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. “You are part of a century of people coming with a dream and leaving with a future.”
Chancellor Diana Z. Rodriguez spoke directly to the graduates’ journeys. “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,” Rodriguez said. “This is our 100th birthday year and you are a huge part of it. Years from now, people will look back at photos from this day and see you, the centennial class.”
Class speaker Brittany Wall added her own centennial toast. “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.
SBCCD Board of Trustees Chair Nathan Gonzales — a historian by profession — framed the moment for the graduates in his own terms.
“History is people. It’s their lives and stories. History is you,” Gonzales said.
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.