My journey to higher education was unconventional because I attended community college. It was more common at my high school for students to go straight to a four-year university. I was scared to take an alternative route, but I leaned on counselors, people in my community who took the community college route, and CCCP. 

CCCP is the reason why I was prepared to transfer to a four-year university and transferred to UCLA. They taught me everything I needed to know about transferring. CCCP demystified transferring for me. I could not imagine my community college experience or transferring without CCCP and my counselor, Moises Del Real Viramontes. 

One of the most memorable experiences I had at UCLA was the Transfer Summer Program (TSP). TSP gave me the experience and confidence for my first quarter at UCLA as a transfer student. I was also able to build a community with fellow transfer students. The Transfer Student Center always felt like a safe place on campus and made me feel like I belonged. The Center and overall welcoming experience for transfers is one of the main reasons why I chose UCLA over the other UC’s I applied to. 

It meant so much to me and my family as First-Generation college students to graduate from the most applied to university in the world. My mother, a Guatemalan immigrant, once told me that whenever she passed UCLA, she never imagined that one of her children would one day graduate from there.

I now work at the UCLA School of Law as a fundraiser, securing support for student scholarships and the school’s centers, programs, and institutes. In many ways, it feels like I never truly left campus.

Everyone should know that CCCP changed my life and changed the lives of so many others. CCCP pulled the curtain back for us on higher education. They let us in and made room for us at the table. This program is the opposite of gatekeeping. They opened the gates for us and gave so many First-Gen students of color like me a chance to pursue a higher education and succeed.

I want to thank CCCP from the bottom of my heart. When I look back on my time at Santa Monica Community College and UCLA, I can’t help but think about how instrumental CCCP was for my preparation and confidence. I wish CCCP another twenty-five years and a more incredible impact on students’ lives.