ACC Alumni Ready to 'Follow Their Dreams' After Spring 2018 Graduation

It was a big weekend for Jesus Matilla.

On Friday, Matilla turned 50. On Saturday, he and nearly 1,000 graduates from American Career College celebrated the beginning of new health care careers at the 2018 Spring Graduation.

Photos: Spring 2018 Graduation

Check out the Facebook photo gallery! Be sure to "like" your favorite ones!

Matilla said going back to school was a big decision for him. He already had a lot of experience in the retail industry and decided to join the optical technician program at ACC-Los Angeles after seeing it aligned well with his skill set.

“I learned a lot,” Matilla said, who was also his program’s valedictorian. “The school's tremendous, very supportive and at the same time very good in teaching me a lot of the skills that I need to know in order to be successful in this industry.”

Amanda Perez, the dental assisting valedictorian graduate from ACC-Ontario, decided to go back to school while he husband was deployed with the US Army. Pregnant during the program, Perez said graduation day was even more special for her because her whole family were in the Ontario Citizens Bank Arena stands to cheer for her — including her newborn son.

“I wanted to do it for my family, mostly for my son, for him to know that even though I was pregnant during this whole thing, I wanted to push through it even more for him to be proud of his mom, and then for my husband to be proud of his wife, and for my parents to see that their daughter went to college and got a degree to do something that she loves,” Perez said.

Back to News

Take the first step toward your new career today.

Full Name*

Phone Number*

Email*

Program of Interest*

How did you find us?*

By clicking above, I consent to receive calls, emails and/or text messages** by a college representative with information for educational opportunities at the number(s) provided above. understand calls may be initiated by an automated telephone dialing system. I need not grant this consent to receive information or to be eligible to enroll with ACC. I understand that I am not required to provide consent as a condition of any purchase. I also understand that I may revoke my consent at any time in accordance with ACC's Opt-Out Disclaimer. All information provided is subject to ACC's Privacy Policy. (**Standard rates may apply.) Disclaimer I understand that if I no longer wish to receive text messages from ACC, I may revoke my consent at any time by texting back "Stop" to unsubscribe from the service. I understand that if I no longer wish to receive emails, I may revoke my consent at any time by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link within any email I receive from ACC. I understand I may revoke my consent to receive calls by informing any ACC associate calling me that I no longer want to receive calls from ACC.

*Required