Commencement Speakers

Tiara Taylor

Student Speaker

Tiara Taylor will receive her Associate’s Degree for Transfer in Business Administration. She will be pursuing her Bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Management or Finance.

Raised in Compton, California, Taylor moved to Moreno Valley not long ago at the age of nineteen. Pursuing higher education, being involved in the community, and taking on an entrepreneurial spirit were values instilled in her from a young age.

Taylor considers herself to be a creative individual and nurtures a deep appreciation for the visual arts, theatre, music, and animation. Taylor is also a fan of storytelling, from fantasy and sci-fi, to horror and comedy. She aspires to create fully realized stories of her own through comics and short films. Her hobbies include drawing, writing, singing, and being a foodie.

She has participated in a variety of extracurriculars and programs including EOPS, UMOJA, ASMVC, College Corps, the National Council of Negro Women, and MovaLearns. She was also a member of various different student-led clubs. Taylor prides herself on being involved in the community and seeks to be an example for her younger siblings as the first child to attend college as she is a heavy believer in being a lifelong learner.

Amanda Riggle, Ph.D.

Faculty Speaker

Amanda Riggle, Ph.D., is a former low-income and first-generation community college student. She started her educational path at Fullerton College and earned a PhD in English from UC Riverside in the summer of 2023. Riggle has been highly involved with community and educational opportunities from the start. From community college student to receiving a doctorate, she participated in the McNair Scholar’s Program; taught English in China and Taiwan; was editor-in-chief of the Pomona Valley Review; judged student research presentations at Cal Poly Pomona’s Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Symposium; translated early modern Spanish texts with the UCLA Diversifying the Classics group; and was a member of the John A. Lesser Shakespeare High School Invitational.

Outside her academic career, which includes teaching English at Moreno Valley College, Riggle is involved in community organizing and cooks over 200 meals a month for the unhoused and those in need in Riverside, Moreno Valley, and surrounding communities.