Graduating Community College

As a senior, I was not accepted into universities of my choice. It bummed me out at the time, especially because taking all those AP classes ended up being a waste of my time. So I ended up in a community college, and not just any community college..I ended up at Santa Ana College. For those of you that arent aware, SAC is viewed as the worst possible place to go to after high school. Everyone I knew was going to a four year or OCC. When peers would ask me about my future school and I said SAC, the would usually reply with, "Why not OCC?" SAC is a community college with mostly Latino students and people think it is where the gang members and ghetto people end up. People make it seem like a major deal if someone goes to college there but I was prepared to go there no matter what the stigma was. I just wanted to succeed and if you have that mind set, then it should happen.

So I graduated and went to SAC. It was a smooth transition. Not too many people I knew ended up going there so it was actually great to have a fresh start. Counselors were incredibly helpful. I joined a program to get me to UCI when I completed my units and everything was going as planned. There was never really a bad moment at SAC. I always had great professors and they all made it clear that they are there to help us succeed. Success is the priority at SAC and they have everything available to make sure you reach your goals. I spent three great years there and saved thousands of dollars along the way. It can get pretty comfortable in an environment like that but I knew it was my time to move on.

So I applied to UCI, was accepted, and submitted my SAC graduation petition. My last semester there was so fun and it went by crazy fast. The final few days were strangely difficult. I didnt imagine being so worked up about leaving community college but it was harder than I expected. I made a few friends I would miss and saying goodbye to them was weird. I said goodbye to my favorite professors, the ones that really helped me make decisions in my studies, and that was really hard. For instance, I took Professor Bales for 5 classes and he was really a major part of my SAC career. So I said my goodbyes and thank yous, took my finals, and that was it.

It was a major difference from high school graduation, something my sister is in the process of experiencing. In high school there are a bunch of activities and celebrations and you really relish the final moments with your friends that you have made so many memories with. College is nothing like that, not for me at least. I took my last final and walked to my car like I always would and that was it. I was done with SAC. It was such an intimate and lonely moment because nobody else was there to share it with me. But that is just the reality of it though. In high school you graduate with your class, in college you graduate with yourself. Both meaningful and both exciting.

I walked the commencement ceremony and my family was there to support me. We had a mini celebration and then that was it. Now I just move on to the next part of my educational career and try my best at a new institution. UCI will be a whole new ballgame and it will be interesting to see reactions from people when I say I go to UCI instead of SAC because they will look at me in a better light.

I will never be ashamed to say I started my higher education at Santa Ana College. I grew up there and I learned so much both about the things I studied and about myself. Interested to see what UCI brings me.