By admin 
Kyen Gilfranc Canchico keeps a mattress in his car.
Between early morning military training, daylong finance classes, a full-time night job on-site at an Amazon facility and all the commuting to and fro, he has spent many nights over the last four years in parking lots, snagging the few hours of sleep he could get.
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At a Friday morning ceremony, Canchico graduated from Sacramento State with a 3.88 GPA and the Dean’s Award for the College of Business. He is one of 9,178 students that make up the school’s graduating class for the 2025-2026 academic year. With an 11% increase over the figure from last year, this marks the school’s largest graduating class in history, according to officials. The number includes the 2,740 students who were awarded degrees at the winter 2025 ceremony.
This record graduation number comes amid a larger trend of enrollment growth at Sacramento State. This year, the school recorded its highest ever spring enrollment at 31,477 students.
“Ever since I was little, it’s always been my goal to get a college degree,” Canchico said. “When I immigrated to the States, I realized it was going to be harder than I thought because I’d have to find a way to pay for college. But I also saw there were opportunities to earn my way to college. I wanted to be someone that was true to my word. Once I set my mind to something, I always want to reach for it the best I can.”
During four ceremonies spread over Friday and Saturday, the Sacramento State community put together a celebration of this year’s graduates at the Golden 1 Center. Over the two days, university officials projected a total audience of 44,000 people.
Addressing the audience at the Friday morning ceremony, President Luke Wood drew attention to the first-generation college-goers, the transfer students, the veterans, and the parents and caregivers who were all receiving their degrees after years of hard work. Nearly 30% of this year’s graduating class are first-generation college students.
“The good experiences you have in your life, but even more so the challenging ones, perfectly prepare you for your purpose in this world,” Wood said. “For many of you, your achievement today is more remarkable because of the challenges that you have navigated outside the classroom. … You are overcomers, you are believers, you are visionaries, you are the hopes and dreams of your ancestors.”
During the ceremonies, university leadership honored the winners of the Dean’s Awards — the top graduates in each college. Sacramento State also awarded honorary doctorates this year to Anh Phoong, founder-CEO of Phoong Law; Garry Maisel, CEO emeritus of Western Health; and Elizabeth G. Hill, retired legislative analyst for the State of California. And then, every graduating student crossed the stage into the next chapter of their lives.
As the Friday morning ceremony drew to a close, families and friends milled around the arena with flowers and balloons in hand, waiting to take pictures and celebrate with their graduates. Some loved ones flew in from out of state while others drove long distances to be a part of the special day.
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“Today was a dream come true,” said Ronna Cason, whose daughter Ashanti Lisette Cason graduated with a major in communication studies, as her eyes filled with tears. “I’m just so proud of her for pushing through, being resilient and finishing what she started.”
With the future full of possibilities for the new graduates, President’s Medal recipient Somaya Faruqi of the College of Engineering and Computer Science emphasized the importance of appreciating what access to higher education really means.
“I want to take a moment to think about what I have right now. Even the simplest thing — the right to education — is a dream for millions of children around the world due to wars, disasters and different crises,” said Faruqi, an international women’s rights advocate. “In Afghanistan, girls do not have access to education beyond sixth grade. Sometimes we don’t know how blessed we are.”
At a young age, Faruqi began championing girls’ education and women in engineering as the captain of Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, her visibility and advocacy made it unsafe for her to stay. She fled to Qatar before arriving in the U.S. as an international student. After briefly attending college in Missouri, Faruqi transferred to Sacramento State for its diversity and sense of community.
Now, equipped with her bachelor’s degree and the “engineering ring” that seniors receive on her pinky finger, Faruqi is all set to get some work experience in manufacturing, continue her international advocacy work and prepare for graduate school.
“I’m so excited I’m graduating and I’m grateful for all the support I had from my advisors, my professors and the whole mechanical engineering department,” Faruqi said.
Sacramento State is a four-year university and the sixth-largest campus in the California State University system. It serves more than 31,000 students, 91% of whom are undergraduates.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 4:57 PM.