Awards

2025 - National finalist (GM ASEP and Early College)
2024 – National finalist (It Takes a Village: Supporting Student Housing and Basic Needs)
2018 – Top 10 finalist (Cerritos Complete and OER initiative Making College Affordable for Adult Learners Using Online Education Resources)
Bellwether Awards

2025 - Three bronze awards (Cerritos Blue is Going Green, Falcons in Flight, and math boot camp IG reel) and a silver award (2024 SOAR) winner
2024 - Two bronze awards (2023 SOAR and commencement speaker social media post) winner
National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR) Medallion Awards

2025 - Ranked #1 in California and #6 in the nation among two-year Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Washington Monthly’s Best Colleges for Hispanic Students ranking

2025 - Winner (GM ASEP)
2024 – Finalist (The Village and NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars)
2023 – Finalist (The Village)
2018 - Winner (Cerritos Complete)
Examples of Excelencia (Associate Level)

2025 - Ranked #1 in Los Angeles County and #10 in California for the return on investment (ROI) in higher education
College Futures Foundation

2025 - Top Scholars: Benjamin Lee and Sharlize Lemus
2016 – Top Scholar: Alejandro Carranza
Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program

2023, 24, and 25 - State Champion (Women's Wrestling)

2025 - The Child Development Center earned a Tier 5 rating
Quality Start Los Angeles (QSLA)

2024 - Photography Professor Christina Fernandez named 75 Latinx Artists to Know
ARTnews

2023 & 2024 - Procurement and Contract Services won the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC)/CollegeBuys Green Award

2024 - Earned the Seal of Excelencia certification for advancing Latinx student success

Top 100 community colleges for Hispanics The Hispanic Outlook on Education

2023 – 19th with the number of associate degrees awarded to Hispanic students in the United States

2023 Equity Designation 2023 Excellence in Placement The Campaign for College Opportunity

2023 – Named Equity Champion for Equitable Access for Black Students

2023, 2022, and 2019 – WPMD student radio station named America’s Best Community College Radio Station by the College Media Association

Top 50 community colleges for Hispanics The Hispanic Outlook on Education

2023 – Fifth among the top 50 community colleges with the highest Hispanic enrollment in the United States

2022 & 2021 – Seventh among the top 100 schools with the highest Hispanic enrollment in the United States
2020 – Eighth among the top 100 schools with the highest Hispanic enrollment in the United States

2022 – Sixth among the best culinary arts colleges in the U.S. by Universities.com

2022 – Second best cosmetology schools in California by Best-Universities.net

2022 Best Community Colleges College Consensus

2022 – 11th among the nation’s best community colleges by College Consensus

2022 – Ninth among the best 10 community colleges in California

2021 – Named the best value accounting associate degree school in California by Business Degree Central

Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education Top 25 Community Colleges

2021 – Ninth among the top 25 community colleges with the highest Hispanic enrollment in the United States

2020 – Honored as a 2020 Equity Champion of Higher Education by The Campaign for College Opportunity

2019 – Selected as 1 of 6 community colleges piloting the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Program

2017 – Energy and Sustainability Award California for Science Building retro commissioning project (Community Colleges Board of Governors)

2017 – Outstanding Achievement Award awarded for the Electrical Field Service Technician training program

2017 – 14th in the nation for the highest Hispanic enrollment

2017, 2016, 2015 – PRO Award, First Place (Sports Media Guide)
2017 – PRO Award, Second Place (Media Success Story)
California Community College Public Relations Organization

2017 – Teacher of the Year – Jim Driskell (Woodworking)

2017 – Dr. Kimberley Duff (Psychology) national president-elect of Psi Beta

2017 – Outstanding Teaching Award – Dr. Kimberley Duff (Psychology)

2017 – Outstanding Chapter of the Year – Cerritos College Chapter, Psi Beta

2017 – Talon Marks journalism awards

2017 – 24 culinary arts students helped prepare meals for the Golden Globes Award for the third year in a row

National Soccer Coaches Association of America

2016 – State Championship – Women’s Soccer (5-straight wins); NSCAA National Champions
2016 – Coach of the Year – Ruben Gonzalez (Women’s Soccer). Three-time winner

2016 – Foundation Directors Award – Dr. John Haas (History) for his global peace building efforts

2016 – Teacher of the Year – Dr. Cynthia Alexander (Technology)

2016 – Team, Dual State Champion (Tennis)

2016 – Samantha Dawson All-California Community College Academic First Team member
2013 – Vannaren Long All-California Community College Academic First Team member
2011 – Alina Turpin All-USA Community College Academic First Team member

2016 – America’s Best Student Public Affairs Program – WPMD Radio

2016 – Online Learning Consortium’s Digital Learning Innovation Award – Open Education Resources (Business)

2016 – Top 100 two-year colleges with the highest alumni salaries in the United States

2015 – Best In-house Design Award – Bonnie Barrett (Graphic Arts/Computer Graphics)

2015 – Teacher of the Year – Diana Melina Echeverria (Child Development)

2015 – Hazel O. Torres Excellence in Education Award – Donna Wedell (Dental Assisting)

2015 – Outstanding Athletic Trainer – Brian Cable (Athletics)
2015 – Outstanding Health Educator – Dr. Ni Bueno (Fitness)
2015 – Outstanding Fitness/Exercise Physiology Instructor Award – Dr. Carrie Edwards (Health/Wellness)
2015 – Outstanding Athletic Administrator – Dr. Dan Smith (Health/Athletics)
2008 – Coach of the Year – Alvin Kim (Men’s/Women’s Tennis), six-time recipient

2015 – Educator of the Year – Adelle Krayer (Dental Hygiene)

2015 – Woman of the Year – President/Superintendent Dr. Linda L. Lacy

2015 – Woman of the Year for Norwalk, CA – Assembly Member Cristina Garcia 58th District
2014 – #Pride58 Award – Raquel Lizarraga
Assembly Member Cristina Garcia 58th District

2015 – 2nd in California for Mexican-American/Latino student transfers to CSU’s. Among the top 10 schools to transfer Latinos to UC’s

2015 – Top 10 Best Nursing Schools in the Western United States

2015 – Platinum Award – Donated 946 units of blood

2014 – Assistant Coach of the Year – Memo Gonzalez (Women’s Soccer), Division III

2014 - #Pride58 Award – Student Tommy Diaz, Assembly Member Cristina Garcia (District 58)

2014 – Green Community College Leadership Award for water conservation efforts, saving the campus 30 million gallons of water annually

2013 – Award for Progress in Diversity – Dr. Lucinda Aborn (Disabled Students)

2013 – Top Scholar – Vannaren Long (Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program)

2012 – Campus Technology Innovator – Kaleidoscope Open General Education Curriculum at Multi-Institutional Scale, Campus Technology

2011 – Coca-Cola New Century Scholar – Alina Turpin

2011 – Student Success Award – iFalcon: Habits of Mind

2011 – Jack Bates Award – James Cameron (Journalism)

2011 – Teacher of the Year – Richard Aragon (Automotive)

2011 – Teacher of the Year – Astrid Feist (Child Development)

2011 – Educator of the Year - Dani Carroll (Dental Hygiene)

2010 – Center for Excellence – Veterans Student Success

2009 – Honorable Mention for building retrofitting efforts and operations at the 8th Annual Sustainability Conference. Campus infrastructure, Central Plant and lighting upgrades acknowledged