Graduates and staff pose with SBVC president in front of commencement stage
Female graduate holds diploma next to little boy in front of commencement stage
Female graduates pose with mascot Blue

More than 1,500 graduates earned degrees at SBVC’s centennial commencement ceremony on May 16, 2026, the highest number in the college's 100-year history.

Photo credit: Angel Castillo

 

CONTACT: Paul Bratulin, San Bernardino Valley College: pbratulin@valleycollege.edu / (909) 384-8978 

 

SAN BERNARDINO — In its 100th year, San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) made history twice in a single night: graduating its largest class ever, then lighting up the sky with a centennial drone show.

 
More than 1,500 graduates earned degrees and certificates in SBVC’s centennial year, the most in the college’s century-long history, with hundreds of graduates celebrated at the centennial commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at SBVC Stadium. 
 
“Class of 2026, you are the largest graduating class in the history of San Bernardino Valley College!” President Gilbert J. Contreras said before a blue and gold centennial backdrop. “Work still had to be done, bills still had to be paid, families still needed you, and responsibilities still waited at home. And somehow, in the middle of all of that, you kept showing up. That is the miracle of this day.”
 
Class speaker Brittany Wall captured the spirit of the graduating class’s journey with characteristic directness. “Here’s to 100 years of excellence at San Bernardino Valley College,” she said. “We are adding ourselves to that legacy.”
 
California State Senator and SBVC Distinguished Alumna Eloise Gómez Reyes — who earned her associate’s degree from SBVC in 1976, exactly 50 years before this ceremony — delivered the keynote address, drawing on themes of access, perseverance, and the transformative power of community colleges.
 
“For a century, this institution has opened doors to Dreamers, workers, parents, immigrants, veterans, first-generation students, and anyone willing to believe an education could change the trajectory of their life,” Gómez Reyes said.
 
San Bernardino Community College District Chancellor Diana Z. Rodriguez underscored the historic moment for the graduates themselves.

“This is our 100th birthday year and you are a huge part of it,” Chancellor Rodriguez said. “Years from now, people will look back at photos from this day and see you, the centennial class.”
 
At the close of the ceremony, hundreds of drones rose above SBVC Stadium to trace the story of the college's hundred years, rendering iconic images from the college’s history in the night sky: the historic Auditorium, the Observatory, Blue the Wolverine, and finally the centennial logo, luminous above the field where the Class of 2026 had just made history.
 
As California’s first purpose-built community college, SBVC has served the Inland Empire since 1926.

See more commencement photos at San Bernardino Valley College 2026 Commencement Ceremony Gallery by SBVC Galleries