San Bernardino Community College District’s Post

Transcript

I grew up in Norwalk, CA and my family has been such a huge part of my life. I'm very fortunate to have a loving mother and father who have always instilled the importance of education in our lives. On one of four children, my oldest sister, her loopy Contreras was the 1st in our family to go to college. She was the first of all the Contreras family. We have like 50 plus cousins to go to college and her journey. Started at Cerritos College and from her example, the rest of us, you know, followed her her as a role model and went on to pursue higher education. The family was very important to us. Community involvement was very important to us. Youth sports played a huge role in our lives and our our parents always instilled in us the importance of education, the importance of faith, the importance of civic engagement and being involved in the community. You know, growing up in in Norwalk, CA. From the working class neighborhoods, you know, product of free lunch programs. I'm a product of affirmative action, I'm a product of EO programs. I've benefited from a lot of the support programs that many of our students utilize at San Bernardino Valley College. But for me, my career trajectory was really impacted by a major life event. When I was 17 and preparing to go off to UC Berkeley, my cousin was murdered and he was murdered by a rival gang member. And it was at that moment in my life I thought, why did his life go one way in my life, go a different way? So as a first generation college student, you know, I knew I wanted to pursue a career that would, you know, provide young people and all people with more opportunities through education. And I also wanted to have a position that would help people with making more positive life choices and options. But at 17, you don't know what that means. You go off. And pursue different things. And it was really through a lot of mentorship from key people along my journey, starting with my family, my parents, my sisters, but also professors. And I can honestly say I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the love and support of mentors and in particularly Doctor Lois Takahashi. Without her, I would not have completed my dissertation. And there were many times where I thought I was going to give up, you know? And I think the hardest time along that journey was when my oldest sister died. And she died of ovarian cancer. And that absolutely crushed me. But when I learned from that was there's a lot of people there to help pick you up and there's a lot of mentors there that when you fall down, we'll reach a handout and lift you up and keep you on that path. And for me, that's what I see in the Community College system. And in particular, that's what I see at San Bernardino Valley College. There's a community of educators here and there's a community of faculty and. Classified professionals and managers and volunteers and community members that are going to be there to help pick up our students when life is presenting them with ups and downs. And to me, that's really exciting to be part of a community that is so student centered, so focused on helping our students across that stage. And that can mean many things to many people. It could be a commencement stage. It could be coming back to San Bernardino Valley College to to get some job training and get into a better career it. I mean, you know, just having the will and the resilience to, to keep going and for some of us, you know, staying in the game and, and looking for more options in life. That's what education provides for folks. What jumps out to me about San Bernardino Valley College is a place of hope. You know, I, I think the physical built environment is beautiful. And kudos to the facilities folks, the people who worked the ground. When you step on the campus, you it, it's a well kept campus. And what's exciting, you know, getting to use my urban planning background are the plans of, of construction of new buildings and looking at the future and, and some of the awards are getting for sustainability and technology and the educational master plan and, and what the plan is moving forward. But I think most of all, what, what excites me about San Bernardino Valley College is the people. You know, there's so much diversity in the community served by the college and so much diversity in the college. Yourself and just to build upon the amazing work that's being done here already. And I think ultimately that's the one of the major roles of leadership is to bring the campus together to provide confidence in the stability and and to create along with the leadership here that comes from so many spaces because I believe is the leader that leadership doesn't come from title. Leadership comes from the people who are doing the work and really amplifying voices to allow the best ideas to come forward to advance. With his college is working on O I'm really inspired by that through my interactions with the people to this point. There are people who want their voices heard. There are people who are very engaged that want to make a difference in this college and in this community. And to me that's inspiring because there's so much incredible work going on at Valley College. And you know, I, I can't wait to to jump in and to work alongside the people who are doing the heavy lifting and, and making sure that we continue to advance the great work. What's going on here at Valley College? For me, I love that the Community College is Open Access and we serve the top 100% of students. For me, it is the equity tool in education that provides hope and provides first chances, second chances, third opportunities, 4th opportunities, and really it it rests on the belief that in the Community College system, we value education. We see education as the way for upward social mobility. For me, that's a big responsibility to make sure that we are loving our students enough to provide them with the supports they need to be successful and supporting our employees enough to create those learning environments that are going to help them while they're asset Bernardino Valley College and as they transition off to better things to serve this world. So I really hope that during my time. December to Valley College, we live up to that promise that we are serving the students and the communities that we serve to our fullest potential. I want to be a president that's the the biggest cheerleader, the the greatest listener, the biggest advocate for Valley College, the biggest mouthpiece in the community on campus in this district, so that we amplify our student voices. We amplified the needs of the communities that we're serving, and we deliver on the promise of a Community College education. Reinforcing and creating a culture on campus of love and care, and one that when people come on our campus, know that this is their home.