Transfer Stories
CERENE JAE DIAZ MERCADO
- Public Health, San Jose State University
- AA Liberal Arts - Emphasis in Math and Science
What's Your Chabot Story?
I came from a small charter school who pushed for 4 year universities and gave a negative stigma about community colleges. They made it seem like the only and fastest way to succeed was in a 4 year. However, for lower middle class, the expenses of college without financial aid or college fund is hard. Also, I had no idea what my major would be and did not want to get into somewhere that I'd feel pressured to graduate in 4 years. Chabot gave the perfect option of affordability, no pressure to graduate in a strict time frame, extremely helpful professors and support. During my journey, I have changed my major 4 times and took multiple years. I struggled with ADHD and having to work full time. However, I never gave up. After being stubborn and struggling, I reached out to counseling and carved a realistic path. Due to my experience in high school, I was reluctant to get help but once I did, Chabot helped shape my life with advice, resources, and a solid plan. To this day, I never regret choosing this option and working my way up to transferring. I was able to transfer to the school I was accepted in senior year with confidence.
How did Chabot influence your life and career?
The Chabot counselors have influenced my life and gave the support I needed. I have severe ADHD and the DSPS center was quick to give academic support, help with enrollment, and genuine counseling. This was the first time I felt supported academically. I felt heard after years of struggling with my education. Regarding my career, Chabot professors have provided curriculum that tickled my mind and helped mold my interested. I realized how much I care about the community and want to provide support to those through health care. Chabot helped point out a lot of disparity in communities that I was blind to. I chose public health after changing majors time after time. After getting counseling, they helped me pick out the right major to help aid my career in the long run. I am going to be studying public health in SJSU and graduating Chabot with a liberal arts in Math and Science degree. I am confident this will diversify my resume and help me succeed moving forward. My life has had twists and turns especially academically and I am glad Chabot was there to redirect me when I got lost.
Why should anyone transfer?
Anyone who wants to continue learning, growing and developing their education should transfer.
Shout Outs and/or Words of Wisdom?
Your counselors will be your best friends! It's okay not to do everything on your own because all faculty is here to help you succeed. If Chabot didn't guide me and support my education, I would not be able to transfer and get more for myself.
ABRAHAM JIMENEZ - Graphic Design, CSU East Bay
What's Your Chabot Story?
I come from a Hispanic household. After high school, most of my family just go out into the world and look for jobs, but i decided to persue a higher education because my parents came from Mexico to give me and my brothers a better life. I want to pursue my career to make my parents proud, and make them feel like they came here for a reason.
How did Chabot influence your life and career?
Chabot helped me choose a path that is right for me because they gave me so many options. I explored different options such as pottery, psychology, theater and so many other options until I finally found the right one for me.
Why should anyone transfer?
I think transferring would not only help you financially but also will give you a chance to explore any major.
Shout Outs and/or Words of Wisdom?
Follow your heart!
KATHERINE MCKINNEY - English
When I first enrolled at Chabot, I came with the assumption that community college was a place where students “ended up”, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth! Chabot is a place for students of all kinds to flourish, and I’m living proof of that! Having failed much of high school, I entered college with a bleak outlook, imagining myself and education as being simply incompatible. But with the help of the DSRC, the WRAC, and what have to be the best professors on earth, I found my bliss here. Though I entered with a seemingly insurmountable fear of failure, I have earned straight As every semester of my enrollment and worked as a WRAC tutor for two years.
Through my job at the WRAC, I have worked with countless students and realized that there are tons of people at Chabot just like me—people who just need a little extra push to be successful and soar. It’s heartening in a way I cannot fully articulate to see the light in my fellow students’ eyes as they finally *get* something and are able to find their voices while writing. This feeling is so fulfilling, in fact, that I plan to return to the community college level someday to teach English. Also through this job, I was able to present with my team at the Northern California Writing Center Association’s annual conference this year, and I evidently made enough of an impression on my professors with this that I was honored with the Outstanding English Student Award through the Language Arts Department.
Words cannot come close to expressing how honored and blessed I feel to have been given as many opportunities here as I was. Moreover, I am beyond grateful to all the resources on campus that helped build my confidence to such a level where I felt qualified to take advantage of them. Not only have these experiences helped to teach me things about our communities I never would have learned otherwise, but they also helped position me as a competitive transfer applicant, which has been my dream all along. While I am thrilled to be moving on to the next chapter of my life at a four-year university, I know that I owe all of these successes to my many wonderful years spent as a Chabot Gladiator.
Why should anyone transfer?
If I can turn my life around, anyone can. Having gone from failing my classes in high school to being poised to transfer to a top 25 university, I have learned what a gift second chances are. Chabot is a place for second chances and fresh starts; it’s where students can reinvent themselves, get out of their comfort zones, and strive to become the best versions of themselves. Taking advantage of those opportunities here has been the best choice I could have possibly made for myself, and I feel beyond ready to take on the challenges of upper-division coursework. I know that a bachelors degree will open doors, both for my job opportunities and my future wages, and I owe that to myself and to my family, who sacrificed again and again to give me the best future they could. I urge any student considering transfer to do it; challenge yourself! You might just surprise yourself along the way.
Shout Outs and/or Words of Wisdom?
Best tip I can offer: buy a planner and be religious about using it. For the smallest assignments to the biggest term projects, it’ll keep your whole life in one easy-to-find place so that you never fall behind. If you have time, color-code your assignments by class or date so you can really stay on top of them.
Also, have separate folders (even the 25¢ ones) for all your classes so that all your papers are easy to find! Really, the key to college is organization! If you can find what you need quickly, you’re already ahead of the curve. Trust me!
Share Your Transfer Story and photo, and you may featured at a future issue of Transfer Spotlight!