Dr. Marilyn Flores, president of San José City College, delivered the invocation at the Sept. 15 San José City Council meeting, using the moment to spotlight the college’s 105-year legacy and its far-reaching impact on the city it serves.
Council member Domingo Candelas introduced Flores, noting she took office earlier this year after more than 25 years in California’s community college system. Candelas highlighted that Flores is the first Latina president in SJCC’s history, a first-generation college graduate and an English language learner — details that set the stage for an invocation grounded in personal experience.
“It gives me great pride in the month of Latino Heritage Month to be here,” Flores told the council, before noting SJCC’s milestone 105th anniversary this month.
Flores devoted much of her remarks to the college’s newest addition: an 80,000-square-foot Career Education Complex, funded through a voter-approved bond and completed at a cost of $188 million. The building opened for classes in the spring 2026 semester just a few weeks after Flores arrived on campus in January. By February, it was already hosting more than 140 classes and can accommodate up to 5,700 students.
She also shared figures illustrating SJCC’s reach: more than 12,000 students enrolled annually across credit, noncredit and apprenticeship programs, with 64% attending part time. In the past year, the college awarded 1,426 associate degrees and certificates, and helped 196 students transfer to University of California campuses and 744 to California State University campuses, including San José State University. SJCC also distributed more than $24 million in financial aid.
Flores connected those numbers to her own story, describing being raised by a single mother, learning English as a second language, and going on to earn her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. She noted that she is among the 2% of Americans who hold a Ph.D.
“That’s just an example that we can all do it,” Flores said, encouraging continued investment in students’ academic paths toward transfer or the workforce.
She closed with data from the San José Evergreen Community College District’s most recent economic impact report, conducted in 2018. That analysis found SJCC and Evergreen Valley College generated $895.7 million in total economic impact for the community, including $114.6 million in operational spending, $17.3 million in construction spending, $37.7 million in student spending and $726 million in alumni impact, supporting nearly 6,917 local jobs.
Council member Candelas thanked Flores for her leadership, and the council expressed enthusiasm for continuing its partnership with SJCC.
