Students, parents and friends packed the Winslow Maxwell Overlook Friday to support the 2,812 students who qualified for the President’s Honor Roll.

The diversity of Santa Barbara City College showed as students from all walks of life approached the podium, stated their name and major and accepted their certificate.

“Thank god not all of them came,” Superintendent President Andreea Serban joked, during her introduction speech.

Over a thousand students attended the ceremony, resulting in the highest turnout ever.

“I think next year we have to move to a venue that can accommodate a larger crowd,” Serban said. “But it’s a good problem to have.”

The students that qualified were those who maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher for the Spring 2010 – Fall 2011 semesters.

Among the recipients was Shawn Richard Baptista, 21. He is a Linguistics student who has taken a special interest in learning Chinese.

Baptista has dedicated the last year of his life to learning Mandarin, with the hopes of moving to Beijing for two years to become completely fluent. He managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA while trying to master one of the world’s most difficult languages.

“Practice, practice, practice” said Shawn. “Especially trying to write it.”

Di Elman is an adult returning student with four children in their 20s. She is a Film and Pre-Medical major.

“I was driven to teach my children that with passion and persistence you can accomplish your dream,” Elman said.

Elman urges women who want to pursue their education to start planning while their children are in high school.

“Do it, don’t just talk about it,” Elman said.

Elman maintains a 4.0 GPA while building on her idea to combine film and medicine.

Zeal Levin received his certificate with his beloved guitar strapped to his back. Levin, a 19-year-old music major, credits his success to studying his passion.

“It’s the thing that makes me most happy in life,” Levin said. “Why not major in something I love?”