This guest article appeared in the VC Star on August 3, 2024.
With a new semester just around the corner, many of Oxnard College’s 2024 graduates are preparing to transfer to excellent four-year universities. Photos of our graduates can even be found on banners hanging throughout Downtown Oxnard, where I enjoy seeing families look up at their loved ones. It’s an exciting time filled with pride in what our graduates have accomplished and a sense of hope for their next chapter. Let me introduce you to three 2024 graduates about to start their new journey.
Kaye Placio recently graduated from Oxnard College with nine degrees and is transferring to UC San Diego, where she’ll study Bioengineering. An immigrant from the Philippines, Kaye juggled a large course load along with a campus job, while also serving as our student government president. A talented and hardworking young woman, Kaye’s goal is to pursue a medical career so she can develop and distribute medical technologies to impoverished communities like her hometown in the Philippines.
“When I first arrived in the United States, I wasn’t sure what my pathway to a university or career might be in a new country,” says Kaye. “Then at Oxnard College, I found professors and staff who were eager to help me achieve my goals, and today I’m packing my bags for UC San Diego!”
There’s also recent graduate Diego Briceño. A member of our 2022 state championship soccer team, Diego grew up in Nyeland Acres. The son of farmworkers, Diego will head to Cal Poly Pomona this fall, where he will study Agriculture with the goal of becoming a pest control advisor in local fruit and vegetable fields. Diego is also the first in his family to attend college and the proud product of our OMEGA initiative for men of color.
“It’s important for me to get an education because it gives my family a better way of life and sets a good example for people around me who aren’t sure if they want to go to college yet,” says Diego. “Oxnard College helped me grow and focus on my goals. I wouldn’t be headed to Cal Poly Pomona without all the resources and employees who helped me along the way.”
Then there’s Damaris Figueroa. Starting this fall, Damaris will study Political Science at UC Berkeley. A first-generation college student, Damaris attended Channel Islands High School and served as an elected student trustee for the Ventura County Community College District. After graduating from Berkeley, Damaris intends to apply to law school and pursue a career in family law, supporting working-class communities like her own.
“Oxnard College helped me find my voice,” shares Damaris. “When I first arrived on campus, I felt a bit shy and uncertain of my abilities. But now I have leadership experience and am heading to UC Berkeley on a full ride – something I never would have dreamed was possible for me!”
Like Kaye, Diego, and Damaris, my immigrant parents sacrificed to give me and my siblings a better life. Today, I am a proud first-generation college graduate and am honored to serve as the new president of Oxnard College. In fact, many of my colleagues on campus are first-generation college graduates and we all feel deeply committed to helping students achieve their dreams.
Resources like our University Transfer Center, transfer agreements with four-year universities, and the college-transfer culture we’ve cultivated on campus all help inform students of their options beyond Oxnard College. By providing students with two years of free tuition through the Oxnard College Promise, our graduates can transfer to universities with far less debt than their peers who enrolled at four-year institutions directly out of high school. These efforts to support students’ transfer and career goals recently culminated in our being ranked among the nation’s top 150 community colleges by the prestigious Aspen Institute.
Each semester, an increasing number of students transfer from Oxnard College to universities throughout the country. Last year, over 700 of our graduates transferred to reputable universities, and in 2024 that number only increased, with estimates for next year’s class expected to grow even further. For nearly a half-century, Oxnard College has educated generations of students who have gone on to rewarding and impactful careers, many of them right here in our community. From hospitals to classrooms and board rooms to government offices, our graduates are driving Ventura County forward.
So, if you are looking to advance your own education and career while attending an affordable and award-winning institution, Oxnard College is the place to be.