The Center for Community College Partnerships (CCCP) helped me personally, academically and professionally. Personally, CCCP empowered me to aim for more: more degrees, more scholarship money, more research, more community, more rigor, more access and more service. Academically, CCCP equipped me with the language to describe my experiences and to advocate for myself and my community. Professionally, CCCP helped me transition from a first-generation student to a first-generation professional. In other words, CCCP positively impacted my higher education journey so much as a student that I knew it was my duty to ensure that other students had access to the same resources that changed me, my family and my life for the better.
My most memorable experience at UCLA happened before I was a Bruin. Instead, I was a CCCP scholar attending the 2019 Summer Intensive Transfer Experience. My mom and I were split up. She was invited to attend a Family Welcome in Spanish, and I was invited to attend a student workshop. After, they brought us back together for lunch in the dining hall. My mom was so excited for me, because someone had finally taken the time to explain community college, the transfer process, scholarships and more to her in a language she could fully understand. She even had a sticky note with the contact information of the program coordinator at Pasadena City College. This was such a memorable moment for me, because for the first time my mom was sharing an educational resource with me that could help me navigate the next three years.
Graduating from UCLA meant so much to me. I participated in four graduation ceremonies. But I was not alone — my family also willingly and enthusiastically attended four graduation ceremonies, cheering louder and louder with each one. I was awarded the honor of being one of the student speakers at the 2022 UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony. In my speech, I talked about how my growth was made possible by UCLA and its community. I also expressed my gratitude to the programs that made me who I was: the UCLA Academic Advancement Program, UCLA CCCP, UCLA Regents Scholars and many more.
Even more importantly, my graduation from UCLA has had and will continue to have generational impact. I went from not personally knowing a single university graduate to being one myself and committing to share what I know with the world.
Today, I am a UCLA CCCP program coordinator at Pasadena City College. I am making sure that the doors that higher education opened for me — to travel, to dream, to achieve — remain open for generations to come.
