Waubonsee Community College Announces 2019 Commencement Plans

Waubonsee Community College will celebrate the accomplishments of its students with commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 18, at the college’s Sugar Grove Campus Field House. Ceremonies will take place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

This year’s commencement speaker will be Dr. Jorge Partida, Chief of Psychology for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Partida graduated from Waubonsee in 1985 with an Associate in Arts Degree. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Partida immigrated to Aurora, Illinois at nine years of age. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University and a Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) from the Illinois School of Profesional Psychology at Argosy University. He has been a consultant on many national and international projects, designing and implementing clinical programs to address addiction, education, health, community building, diversity and spirituality. He has worked with local and national governments to coordinate services for those most impacted by poverty, war and displacement. He has worked in Liberia, Africa in the repatriation of boy soldiers, forming “intentional communities” in war and poverty-impacted countries such as Columbia, Peru and Mexico.

Partida has served as the Director of Substance Abuse and the Deputy Director of Behavioral Health for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health, the Director of the PsyD Program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California and the Director of Family Treatment for Alo House Recovery Centers in Malibu, California.

Partida has written two books, The Promise of the Fifth Sun and A Week of Awakening. Both books are available in English and in Spanish. He has also authored several published articles, as well as given presentations on television and radio networks.

Waubonsee’s first graduating class in 1968 was made up of 16 students. Last year, more than 1,100 students graduated from Waubonsee.