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Cynamon Mantley ‘18

African American Studies and Italian

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Cynamon Mantley ’18 smiles in front of UCLA’s Royce Hall while holding a bottle spraying celebratory bubbles. She wears a blue-and-gold graduation stole. Text identifies her fields of study as African American Studies and Italian and includes the CCCP 25 Years and UCLA logos.

Cynamon Mantley ’18 laughs while posing between large rust-colored metal panels, wearing a black dress and a blue-and-gold UCLA graduation stole.

Cynamon Mantley smiles beside UCLA’s Bruin bear statue, with her blue-and-gold graduation stole draped through the statue’s mouth.

Cynamon Mantley laughs and raises one arm while participating in an outdoor UCLA event with colleagues, tents, and floating bubbles in the background.

Cynamon Mantley poses with two colleagues beneath large gold CCCP balloon letters supported by blue-and-yellow balloon columns at an outdoor UCLA event.

Cynamon Mantley and three colleagues stand behind a UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships information table inside an event tent.

Cynamon Mantley poses with six colleagues in front of a research poster during an indoor UCLA event.

Cynamon Mantley ’18 smiles in graduation regalia near a tree, wearing a decorated stole, medal, and blue-and-gold UCLA sash.

Blue CCCP 25th anniversary graphic featuring a quote from Cynamon Mantley ’18: “CCCP made UCLA more accessible to students like me, students from underserved and underrepresented communities, and it showed us that we belong here and anywhere in the world. We deserve a seat at the table. That is the impact of CCCP.” Her fields of study are listed as African American Studies and Italian. CCCP 25 Years and UCLA logos appear with multicolored ribbon graphics.

Cynamon‘s Story

When I missed the deadline to apply for a four-year college, I was devastated. All of my friends were going to one, and I had to go to community college. But I never expected Pasadena Community College to be the best experience of my life! I gained incredible academic skills. I forged friendships that are strong to this day. I met my partner of 10 years. I am who I am today because of community college and the flexibility it gave me to explore my interests without steep financial burdens. I gained skills that allowed me to proudly transfer to UCLA and begin working with the Center for Community College Partnerships (CCCP) to help students with their transfer process just as I had been helped with mine.

It wasn’t easy. My journey to higher education was filled with moments of doubt: doubt that I should go to community college, doubt that I could get into UCLA, doubt that I could succeed at UCLA once I went and doubt that I would be able to find my own path post-UCLA. Thankfully, when I doubted myself, I had the support and encouragement of my friends, family, CCCP and other incredible campus resources to quiet those doubts.

When I was at PCC, I would go to the transfer center regularly for help; it was and continues to be an incredible resource to guide students to where they want to go. There, I was connected to Santiago Bernal, UCLA’s associate director of CCCP, and he worked tirelessly with me to help me transfer. I felt that because I went to a community college I was at a disadvantage to get into UCLA, but Santi and CCCP empowered me to see community college as a strength. I am who I am today because of CCCP. #Power2TheTransfer

Almost all of the memorable experiences I had at UCLA tie into my time at CCCP. I loved the Saturday Academies, where community college students would come to UCLA to participate in workshops, mock classes and other activities. It was always the most incredible experience seeing students’ eyes light up when they would walk into an auditorium or a classroom and get a sense of belonging and a tangible look at what being a student at UCLA would be like.

Besides CCCP, some of my most memorable experiences were with the incredible friends I made: going to the dining halls on the Hill, going to the football games at the Rose Bowl, showing up the first day of class and seeing my friend in class and realizing it was going to be a great semester, late night De Neve. Honestly, I enjoyed talking nice long walks around campus and never got over the beauty of UCLA. I have fond memories of exploring campus and finding new places to sit, to eat, to just be.

Graduating from UCLA felt like a life-changer to me. Even in my wildest dreams, I never saw myself graduating because getting to UCLA meant that I made it. But graduating from UCLA really made me feel as if my resilience, my perseverance and my belief in myself paid off. I felt proud, emotional and like I was on top of the world — it was so incredible it’s hard to put in to words, and I still feel all these emotions.

Today, I’m proud to be back at UCLA working as the coordinator for the First To Go program. I obtained a Juris Doctor degree in 2024, but I have been exploring career options and paths beyond the traditional attorney route.

Ultimately, I have experienced firsthand how CCCP transforms and changes lives. Its impact is in the alumni, the students, the staff and incomparable community. Transferring is not easy, but CCCP provides support and encouragement when imposter syndrome creeps in. CCCP made UCLA more accessible to students like me, students from underserved and underrepresented communities, and it showed us that we belong here and anywhere in the world. We deserve a seat at the table. That is the impact of CCCP.

Power to the transfer, power to the people and power to being enough just as you are!

CCCP is celebrating 25 years of transforming transfer pathways with a campaign to raise $25,000

Help empower more scholars like Cynamon by making a donation here.

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The UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.