Crossing the Finish Line: COE Class of 2025 Celebrates Commencement at Angel Stadium
Smiles and congratulations were abundant recently at Angel Stadium in Anaheim when COE’s class of 2024-2025 proudly crossed the stage to receive their hard-earned diplomas.
The COE event, one of seven CSULB’s 2025 college commencement ceremonies, took place on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 1:30 PM, and honored more than 1200 undergraduate and graduate students across six departments. Surrounded by friends and family, students first enjoyed accolades and well wishes from outgoing CSULB president Jane Close Conoley and COE dean Jinny Rhee, along with department chairs and other notable guests.
“After all our hard work, it was so nice to have a ‘coming together moment’ with my classmates where we could celebrate each other, and be together one final time,” beamed graduate Kaitlyn Luhm, Electrical Engineering Outstanding Baccalaureate Award recipient.
Luhm learned about CSULB’s College of Engineering through a high school internship with Boeing, where she was paired with an electrical engineer who was a CSULB alumnus. Once on campus, she credits the Electrical Engineering faculty for helping her narrow her focus and make industry connections. “I worked with Leo Rodriguez for my first semester, she said. “He was wonderful…and he soon recommended me to Dr. Ahmed as a potential lab assistant. Through that opportunity, I also got to know Dr. Lee, who later invited me to contribute to her Nanofabrication and Energy Devices Lab. I was fortunate to work in both Dr. Ahmed’s Lasers and Nanophotonics Lab and Dr. Lee’s lab, gaining experience that helped shape my future in research.”
The College of Engineering enrolled over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the academic year 2024-2025. “This year’s graduating class was slightly smaller than usual due to enrollment patterns from five years ago,” said COE dean Jinny Rhee, “but nonetheless, this group includes students with remarkable stories. Consider that most of them were in school during the Covid-19 pandemic, completing rigorous academic programs while enduring the stress and uncertainty we all experienced. For many, this day is extra special because they didn’t have a high school graduation ceremony.
Dr. Marwan Fawaz, a COE alumnus whose illustrious career includes executive roles at Charter Communications, Motorola, and Nest, which he sold to Google as its CEO,
enthusiastically addressed the students in his keynote speech. “I stand here incredibly proud to be a fellow Beach Engineer. This outstanding university produces not only some of the best and most engineers in California, but also proudly, one of the most diverse groups of engineers in the nation. That diversity is a strength – embrace it, leverage it, and be proud of it!”
For COE graduates, career prospects are many and varied. COE has strong partnerships with major aerospace, utilities, biomedical, construction, chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering companies for joint research and providing internship and employment opportunities.
Asked about her advice to future students, Aaliyah Chee, an Environmental Engineering graduate who has already landed a promising job as a design engineer, reflected, “If I could go back, I would’ve gotten involved in clubs and organizations right when I transferred. The relationships I built with peers made my CSULB experience more enjoyable and motivating. They inspired me to push myself and grow as both a student and an engineer. Being active also helped me connect more with professors and opened opportunities that led to my full-time role today.”
Describing Commencement Day, perhaps Chee said it best: “Commencement felt incredibly rewarding. The best part was walking across the stage—it truly felt like crossing a finish line.”
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