Congratulations to Dr. Ron Andrade (‘18), who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at San Francisco State. Titled The Influence of Validation on Academic Outcomes for Oceania Community College Students, the dissertation examines the extent to which Oceania students experience validation by institutional actors on a community college campus, the relationship between participation in an Oceania learning community and feelings of validation, and whether those experiences are related to academic outcomes. Dr. Andrade’s study contributes to our knowledge about the under-studied Oceania students in the Oceania diaspora that can inform community college practice. Congratulations, Ron!