As she prepares to retire after 26 years, Community Education Center Registration clerk Caron Pace said that she learned to effectively communicate with the public.

She has learned from all the students she helped register for classes “to be patient and tolerant, because I have met different types of people.”

The Community Education Center will hold a retirement ceremony for Pace on Sept. 28 from 1-3 p.m. in CE 3.

Pace initially came to work at Cerritos College because her husband’s job was transferred from Illinois to California, where they soon found residence in the city of Lakewood.

Before her current position, Pace worked as a substitute within the Community Education Center until another position opened up.

“I was able to support myself because I was independent,” she said, “and from then on I didn’t have to worry.”

She added that she would miss having the opportunity to attend plays and go on trips with her co-workers. She will also miss the friendships she had developed over the past 26 years.

Suzy Heapy, secretary, and Toni Grijalva, program facilitator, will likewise miss the relationship.

“I will miss her personality and her energy,” Heapy said.

For her, “It was a blast,” to know someone like Pace for her commitment to Cerritos and its students.

Grijalva, along with Heapy, who has known Pace for more than 20 years, said that being around Pace was always a positive experience because everyday Pace came to work with a smile on her face.

“No matter what happened in her life she was always willing to help out others in the office,” Grijalva said.

Pace commented that she too enjoyed being in the office everyday because everyone worked as a team.

She felt that she and the other co-workers had grown as a family that she will always cherish.

Upon her retirement, Pace looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren.

She also wants to continue her hobby of photography and take exercise classes.