Dominican University of California Will Have Veteran Marin Educator to Honor Graduates

A veteran Marin County educator and Dominican University of California alum will deliver the commencement address at the college on Saturday.

Mary Jane Burke, a 1974 Dominican graduate who became the Marin County schools superintendent for 28 years, said the college “helped shape the course of my life in ways I could never have imagined.”

“Fifty-two years after graduating from Dominican University, it is difficult to fully express what an honor it will be to stand before the Dominican community — and especially the class of 2026,” Burke said. “The class of 2026 is ready to step into a world that desperately needs their compassion, courage and commitment to others.”

The commencement ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Forest Meadows Field on the San Rafael campus. It will include 206 undergraduates and 92 graduate students.

Several graduates credited university staff and the community with supporting them through cultural and economic challenges. Some are the first generation in their families to go to college.

“One of the best parts of my experience at Dominican has been the relationships and supportive community I found there,” said student Stephanie Fayette, 24. “As a first-generation college student and Haitian immigrant, graduating means achieving something that once felt impossible. It reflects years of sacrifice, growth and a first for my family.”

Fayette, who immigrated in early 2017, taught herself English on YouTube before enrolling at San Rafael High School that fall. She progressed from English as a second language classes to advanced placement in English literature, graduating in 2021.

A social justice major, Fayette performed on-the-job training through a university partnership with the nonprofit Canal Alliance in San Rafael. She said she has since been working as an affordable housing development intern at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center in San Francisco “with a full-time job offer pending.”

Fayette said she plans to attend law school and advocate for equity in housing and immigrant rights.

Sulgi Kim, who graduated from San Rafael High School in 2022, immigrated from Guatemala, where she lived with an aunt. She chose Dominican to stay close to family, particularly her mother, with whom she reunited after 12 years apart.

She advanced from English language development classes to advanced placement English in three years. She also took classes at College of Marin while still in high school.

Kim said she appreciated most the “sense of community” at Dominican. The smaller classes made it easy to get to know both her peers across different majors and her professors, who made themselves available for support and guidance.

“It’s a community where you feel supported,” said Kim, 23. “You feel that no matter what, someone will always have your back.”

Kim, who is preparing for law school, interned with Marin County Office of Equity, Adopt a Family of Marin and E.R.S. Immigration Services in San Rafael. The latter internship included practice in immigration petitions, asylum and naturalization services.

Last fall, Kim studied law and politics at the University of Oxford through the Dominican Scholars at Oxford program. The focus of studies was human rights law and Cold War history.

By going to law school, Kim said she hopes to advocate for immigrants seeking opportunity and dignity.

Hannah Lam-Truong, 22, a graduate of San Marin High School in Novato, said Dominican helped her with her goal to get into optometry school.

“Many of my professors and advisers have provided me with words of encouragement and guidance to be able to go through this journey,” she said.

Lam-Truong has been accepted into optometry college programs in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Massachusetts, California and Oregon.

During her time at Dominican, Lam-Truong was a teaching assistant for the human physiology and anatomy classes. She also played NCAA Division II tennis until she was sidelined by an injury.

Lam-Truong said she also held a part-time position as an optician technician, an experience that strengthened her application and helped her stand out in the optometry school admissions process.

She also enjoyed creative writing studies with Dominican assistant professor Claudia Morales. Lam-Truong said the creative writing allowed her to process stress, emotions and the pressures of being a college student. She later took courses in Latino literature and advanced creative writing.

“My experience at Dominican has been incredibly supportive,” said Lam-Truong.