They may prefer to start out at an institution close to home, one with smaller class sizes and an environment that feels more approachable. They may want to boost their grades before applying to a more selective institution. They may intend to earn two years’ worth of general education credits at more affordable rates before transferring to a four-year college or university. Looking back now, at age 40, as assistant professor of higher education administration and policy in the University of California system, Del Real Viramontes can see what his story shares in common with the experiences of so many students who start out at community colleges hoping to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree. “It’s ironic,” Del Real Viramontes says, “because I remember going to UC Riverside, where I work now, visiting, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I was gonna be back as a professor.” He took students on tours of university campuses and helped them build connections there. “We were in a very supportive environment.”Ī transfer counselor sat in on class sessions. “I think that program was the first program that really provided this idea of transferring to a university,” he says. The group studied Chicano literature, offering him the opportunity to read about experiences that reflected his own. Del Real Viramontes joined its Puente program, which embedded him in a cohort of students in a math and English course sequence. A friend filled out an application and submitted it for him. That, plus feeling like as the oldest child he should clock hours working to earn money to contribute to his family’s household, pushed Del Real Viramontes out of school again, this time for three years.Īt his third college, his enrollment came as something of a surprise. But Del Real Viramontes never made it to tryouts, he says, and when his best friend left the college, he decided to leave, too.Īt his second college, close to his home in East Hollywood, he says that he had a bad experience with the instructor about an early assignment in a developmental English course. During his yearslong quest for a bachelor’s degree, José Del Real Viramontes encountered trials at four different California community colleges.Īt his first college, right out of high school, the young man born in Zacatecas, Mexico, hoped to play for the football team.
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