Commencement

Jessica Alice Crafton, 30, is a military wife, mother of two, and a passionate volunteer. She is graduating from San Diego Mesa College with two associate degrees, in History and Psychology.

After failing at her first attempt at college shortly after high school, Jessica tried again six years later at the University of Phoenix. There, she made the grade (3.8 GPA), but the “fit” wasn’t right. She found herself, and the encouragement and support she needed,

after transferring to Mesa College.

At Mesa, she found faculty who inspired her. She was active in the honors club and Psi Beta, the national honor society for Psychology students -- all while being a Little League mom and a military wife ambassador.

A Minnesota native, Jessica plans to attend St. Cloud State University, and eventually become a teacher of social studies and psychology. She is joined today by her husband, STG1 John Crafton, USN, and her children Jacob, 5, and Jordan, who just turned two, and friends and family from Oregon and Minnesota.

San Diego artist Miya Hannan grew up in her native Japan. There, she received a medical technology degree and worked as a hospital professional for seven years. In 1999, at age 30, she came to the United States.

She enrolled at San Diego Mesa College looking to find her passion and a new career. It was at Mesa that she found a way to express herself through visual art. She graduated with honors from Mesa in 2001 with an Associate of Fine Art. Miya went on to earn a B.A. Summa Cum Laude from SDSU in 2004, and received an MFA with Fellowship from San Francisco Art Institute in 2007.

As an artist, Miya works on installation, sculpture, and paintings. Her artwork shows her view of the world constructed by the layers and linkages of human lives. Her work is influenced by Asian rituals and philosophy, as well as by her scientific education. Her goal is to present the structure of the world as a conjoined totality, evoking a spiritual quality beyond materiality.

Since her first student exhibition in 2000 at the Mesa College Art Gallery, Miya has actively exhibited her work in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sonoma and New Mexico. She was also commissioned by event organizer TEDxSanDiego to create an

installation for their 2012 meeting. Miya is represented by R.B. Stevenson Gallery in La Jolla, which this spring featured her solo exhibition “Layers and Missing Links.” She also teaches art at the University of San Diego and Grossmont College.

For more information, please visit www.miyahannan.com.

Are you Ready for Commencement? Watch the short video!