Members of Allan Hancock College’s class of 2026 stepped into a new beginning that each person had earned Friday, Superintendent/President Kevin Walthers told the graduates. 

The morning ceremony at the athletics field on the Santa Maria campus marked the 105th commencement for the college.

As the new set of graduates prepared to leave Allan Hancock College, Walthers encouraged them to keep asking questions and moving forward — even when it’s not easy. 

“Remember this: You don’t need to wait to feel ready because you are ready,” he said. 

Along with noting the challenges faced by some students to complete the graduation requirements, Walthers said the class of 2026 marked Hancock’s first to have 26 students who began taking classes while still enrolled in Orcutt Academy High School. 

Next year, the Early College Program will expand into Santa Maria and Lompoc valley schools, Walthers added.

“That’s how we change the odds,” he said.

Some of the graduates have parents employed at Allan Hancock College, including one close to home for Walthers — his son, Trey Elliott. The new graduate was a fourth-grader when the family arrived on the Central Coast as Walthers took the helm of the college. 

“Each of you arrived here with your own story, your own challenges and your own goals, and today, together we celebrate what you have achieved through hard work, determination and perseverance,” said Hilda Zacarias, president of Hancock’s Board of Trustees and an alum. “No matter what path brought you to this moment, you should be proud of what you have accomplished.”

This year, 1,196 students graduated from Allan Hancock College, earning 1,776 degrees and 1,427 certificates of achievement in 116 majors. Three students earned seven degrees.

More than 1,000 of the graduates, accounting for 86%, came from northern Santa Barbara County, according to Genevieve Siwabessy, Hancock’s associate superintendent/vice president of student services.

Nearly one-half of the class of 2026 benefited from the Hancock Promise program, providing free tuition to the graduates of high schools in the Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Ynez and Cuyama valleys.

This year, nearly 67% of Hancock’s students who applied to Cal Poly were accepted — nearly triple the average rate.

Annabelle Ruiz, president of the Associated Student Body Government, encouraged students to continue growing and pursuing their goals even when life becomes difficult or uncertain. Ruiz reminded graduates that the perseverance and determination that brought them to commencement day would continue to guide them long after leaving Hancock.

“If I had one message to send you all today, it’s to remind yourself that in the smallest moments or spaces, you can still grow,” Ruiz said.

The ceremony Friday morning followed the Allan Hancock College Foundation’s annual scholarship awards event Thursday night.

This year, 409 students received 578 scholarships amounting to $725,000. It marked the most awarded in the foundation’s 49-year history and a 20% increase over the previous year, Hancock officials said.

The prestigious Marian Hancock Scholarship went to Audel Guizar, who earned a degree in engineering and plans to transfer this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering. The graduate hopes to become a physician-scientist focused on advancing cancer treatment research.

Named in honor of the late wife of Capt. G. Allan Hancock, the $10,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an exceptional student who exemplifies academic excellence, leadership, perseverance and service to the college and community.

Guizar is the 62nd student to receive the Marian Hancock Scholarship since it was first awarded in 1967.