Ventura College Graduate Regains a Needed Degree of Self-Confidence

VENTURA — For Lawrence Johnson, Thursday symbolized a turning point from the reclusive life he led after becoming a paraplegic to the life he aspires to as a clinical psychologist.

The former equipment specialist at Point Mugu ended a three-year journey to “regaining self-confidence”--accomplished through earning an associate’s degree at Ventura College.

Johnson was one of about 350 students who participated Thursday in the 67th Ventura College commencement ceremonies. About 1,000 students were eligible to receive their associate’s degrees.

Oxnard and Moorpark colleges will hold commencement ceremonies today.

Anticipation, apprehension and anxiety filled the air as the Ventura College graduates formed a line almost two blocks long between the bookstore and cafeteria. While pinning on their caps, sharing water bottles and nervously chattering, graduates waited for the signal to proceed to the gym.

To get that perfect picture, relatives and friends arrived hours earlier for good seats.

Applause and whistles echoed throughout the gym, almost overshadowing the Ventura College Orchestra’s rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance” as the graduates filed in--some waving, others wiping tears.

Flashbulbs lighted up the bleachers, accented by bouquets of balloons and filled with more than 1,300 people who searched for their loved ones in the sea of blue and white flowing robes. Parents and grandparents lifted children to catch a glimpse of the procession.

Graduates tossed around a blue, green, yellow and red-spotted beach ball as trustee Norman Nagel and President Larry Calderon greeted them and announced that the ceremony signified the beginning of their futures.

Then keynote faculty speaker Luke Hall recalled the story of a 19-year-old father who said the most important thing he had learned while attending community college was that he could learn.

“As I look over this assemblage of graduates today, I see goals and dreams about to be realized,” Hall said. “It’s time to wish them luck and bump them out of the nest.”

Johnson and Christina Martinez sat listening in their wheelchairs next to the stage, which also turned out to be the prime spot to wish colleagues well before they walked across to receive their diplomas.

“Even though I’m in a wheelchair, this is the best I’ve ever felt about myself,” said Johnson, who seven years ago at the age of 34 was in a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down and in deep depression.

It wasn’t until four years after the accident that Johnson decided it was time to do something with his life. He engaged in a rigorous exercise program, spoke with a vocational counselor at the state Department of Rehabilitation and soon found himself enrolled in courses at Ventura College.

“I was scared to death . . . apprehensive . . . very reserved,” he said. “My biggest concern was people looking at me because I hadn’t been out of the house very much since the accident.”

The Educational Assistance Center was the key to Johnson’s survival on campus--the staff cultivated his self-confidence and he soon felt like any other student, he said.

“I was like anyone else going to school--I just happened to be in a wheelchair,” Johnson said, adding that no one made him feel different or looked down on him.

Ventura College enabled Johnson to start working toward a clinical psychology major, which he will continue to pursue at Cal State Northridge. He said he wants to eventually help others who have been through traumas.

“Although each person’s pain is different, I can empathize because I’ve been there,” he said. “If I can help someone else, maybe they won’t have to go through the lengthy psychological recovery period that I had to.”

When Johnson’s name was called, he rolled across the floor to the front of the stage--to a burst of applause, whistles, cheers and the only standing ovation of the ceremony--and then to a chain of flowers and hugs.