Success Stories

Below you can read the stories of real students – people like you – who received financial aid.  This aid helped them attend a California Community Collegeand start down a path towards a better future.

Ebony Smith
Ebony Smith is finishing her third semester at Sacramento City Co llege.  She is a 23-year-old, single mother of two toddlers: Genesis, four years old, and Heaven Leigh, who is one.  With financial aid assistance, Ebony looks forward to completing the nursing program and creating a brighter future for her family.  More...

Stacey Bixby
West Valley College graduate Stacey Bixby recently received a $20,000 scholarship to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. However, just a few years ago, Stacey's future looked bleak. She was able to turn her life around thanks to the support she received from Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) Office at West Valley College in Saratoga. More...

Frances Borella
As a Professor of Anthropology at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., Dr. Frances Borella has seen many students who come from adverse backgrounds and that have overcome incredible obstacles in their college careers.   She knows exactly what it has taken for each of them to get to where they are.  More...

Jiuan-Ru Jennifer Lai
Former Santa Monica collegestudent Jiuan-Ru Jennifer Lai has come a long way, both figuratively and literally.  Jennifer and her family emigrated from Taiwanto the United Statesin the summer of 2000, during which time she was introduced to the Californiaschool system as a high school junior.  More...

Jasmine Schlafke
“I found my voice at community college,” insists Jasmine Schlafke Moreover, she says that despite having many reasons to be angry at Cabrillo College she has “found reasons not to be angry” that are far more powerful. “You name it,” Jasmine says, “I fit the category. I'm a woman of color, raised in a poor neighborhood with inferior education opportunities, a single mom with two children, and I struggle with a learning disability.” More...

Steve Streeter
Simply put, Steve Streeter says, “Sacramento City College changed my life.”  If you saw him today, you would think that Streeter, an Assistant Chief Deputy at the Sacramento County Probation Department, had always known where he was going in life.  However, that wasn't exactly the case.  More...

Luis Valencia
Cypress College graduate Luis Valencia is something of a rarity among the kids he grew-up with in South Central Los Angeles.  He has surpassed the expectations and life expectancy of most young men who grew-up in his neighborhood. More...