Family of Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez, killed in Paris attack, receive her diploma

The overcast sky set the somber mood for the Cal State Long Beach graduation ceremony.

More than 800 students on Thursday moing received their bachelor’s degrees from the College of the Arts, but one graduate wasn’t able to attend.

Beatriz Gonzalez and Jose Heandez accepted the diploma for their daughter, Nohemi Gonzalez, the 23-year-old student who was killed last November during the terrorist attack in Paris.

Nohemi, an El Monte resident, also was recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Award, the same honor she received last week during the Cal State Long Beach Alumni Banquet.

‘Always in my heart’

“She will always be in my heart,” Beatriz said with tears in her eyes as she spoke backstage shortly after accepting her daughter’s diploma. “She was a strong woman who wanted a better life and a career. She was dedicated to her education.”

Gonzalez was an industrial design major and a student assistant in the design department.

In October, Gonzalez and fellow CSULB design students won 2nd prize in the 2015 Inteational Biomimicry Global Design Challenge in Austin. They designed a product called “Polli Snak,” a 100 percent biodegradable packaged snack pack with dried fruits and nuts that also included dehydrated soil and seeds for the user to plant after finishing the snack.

The package cover said “planting our community, one snack at a time.”

“Nohemi was an example of someone who was determined to be someone,” said Heandez, her step-father. “She’s an example of someone who could succeed and make it. It’s an honor to be here for her.”

About 10,000 students will collect diplomas this week at CSULB, a record at the CSU’s largest campus. That figure is about 700 more than last year, said university spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp.

Graduation ceremonies from the university’s 10 colleges take place on the campus’ Central Quadrangle and will end Friday.

Lab to be named for Nohemi

The design department is in the midst of raising $150,000 to renovate and purchase new equipment for it’s lower division workshop, which also will be named in honor of Gonzalez.

About $90,000 has been raised, Herman said.

Online donations are being accepted at the Nohemi Gonzalez Shop Initiative, http://bit.ly/1Ugq8Fd.

“Nohemi spent so much time in that workshop. She was the first one in and the last person out,” Martin Herman, chairman of the design department, said recently. “She was like a tiger in the shop. Nohemi had a charismatic presence.

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“She was known as a toado, too. If things were not tidy or organized, she would let you know. We really appreciated that,” he said. “Nohemi loved design and we want to share that love,”

Gonzalez died Nov.u200912 while eating with friends at a popular bistro in Paris called La Belle Equipe. She was one of 17u2009CSULB students attending Strate College of Design in Paris as part of a study abroad program.

She was one of 129 u2009people who died in the coordinated attacks that erupted at the cafe, a soccer stadium and theater.

Nohemi’s brother, Juan Duran, who also attended the graduation ceremony, said he doesn’t want the terrorist attack to overshadow his sister.

“It’s important to stop thinking about the evil and remember her accomplishments,” he said. “Our hearts our heavy, we are very proud of her.”