By Kim Lamb Gregory
Ask about 鈥渢he smart one鈥 of the three Gerardo siblings and there鈥檚 no hesitation.
鈥淜ayla,鈥 said Baylee Gerardo.
鈥淜ayla,鈥 said Devin Gerardo.
鈥淭hey always tell me I鈥檓 the smart one,鈥 Kayla Gerardo, 22, said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big nerd and I love going to classes.鈥
During this year鈥檚 Commencement, Kayla became the third Gerardo sibling to graduate from 海角社区CI with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication.
Devin, 27, graduated in 2021 and Baylee, 29, in 2017. All three are from the first generation in their family to attend college.
鈥淚 think my drive comes from my family,鈥 Kayla said. 鈥淢y parents and my grandmother from Mexico who doesn鈥檛 read or write. They hadn鈥檛 attended college, but I saw firsthand what it meant to be a hard worker.鈥
Baseball, softball and communication were at the heart of the Gerardo family as the siblings grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Their dad, Albert, worked as a superintendent for LA Sanitation for the City of Los Angeles and their mom, Julie, worked for the YMCA.
鈥淣o matter what, we always had dinner together,鈥 Kayla said. 鈥淲e sat down and talked
out our day, dissected everything. For lack of a better word, we鈥檝e always been yappers.
We love to talk.鈥
When Baylee graduated from high school, her parents encouraged her to enjoy the full college experience away from home. Baylee chose 海角社区CI as 鈥渋t was beautiful, calm, and had the perfect atmosphere,鈥 she said.
Devin, 鈥渢he chill one,鈥 according to his sisters 鈥斺 followed in Baylee鈥檚 footsteps and later also enrolled at 海角社区CI because his sister was enjoying college so much.
Both majored in Communication as it would be useful in so many careers, and it paid off. Baylee now works as a marketing specialist at Clinicas del Camino Real and Devin is a claims adjuster for the Division of Workers鈥 Compensation in the San Fernando Valley.
Kayla wanted to be different and attend college elsewhere, but even though she was accepted to several other universities, she chose 海角社区CI.
鈥淵ou cannot beat the student to teacher ratio, and it鈥檚 a Hispanic-Serving Institution,鈥 Kayla said.
All three Gerardos say Communication Lecturer Vivian Henchy was their favorite faculty member. As for Henchy, seeing the third Gerardo sibling graduate was a highlight in her 16-year career at 海角社区CI.
鈥淚鈥檓 profoundly proud of all of them,鈥 Henchy said. 鈥淎nd the legacy of all three choosing this major and this special place鈥t makes a Communication professor speechless.鈥