Have Your Say: How has City College helped or hindered your career path?

Jesse Walls III, Business Major

Professors that care

“It's not luck that I keep getting really, really good professors. …  I think it's a combination of people being passionate and really caring about the students and being proficient at what they do.

“I do computers, and because of (my professors), now I'm reading Langston Hughes, and I just read the Book of Disquiet, and they inspired me to understand that literature allows you to tackle issues that you can't in nonfiction … That's helped me in the real world, because now I'm doing something I've never considered, which opens up a whole different world and whole different perspectives.”

Stephen Vargces, Freshman, Possible Art Major

Finding new opportunities

“I'm not completely set on a goal just yet, but I really enjoy all the resources and the classes that there are. I think just by being here and like trying out new things, you're opening up new windows and new opportunities for yourself. 

“(I’m considering) maybe the arts. I like a lot of art. Or if not (that), like, electrician. So I'm just trying to see what's going on right here before I go to the long run.”

Jordan Lazo, Freshman, Undecided

Career options galore

“I think (City College) has a very wide variety of things to choose from. So I think that's how it helps me choose or help me with my career. I think the counseling is also very helpful there. It's kind of difficult to get to them, but you know, they're so helpful. I was thinking about IT, like technology or computer science.”

Luz Lopez, Sophomore, Psychology Major

Great resources for first-gen students

City College has helped me a lot with all the resources that it has, like (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services), the Writing Success Project, Metro Center. …  All of these programs have helped me pass my classes, get tutoring, or find resources for low-income students, especially for first-gen, as I am one of them. They have also provided me with scholarship funds in order to help me financially while I'm trying to save up money before I transfer to UC. If I (hadn’t) gotten the support, I feel like I wouldn't be here.

J.C., Undecided

College work limits endanger CalFresh benefits

“One way I'm definitely being hindered by City College is the refusal to allow student workers to work the 20 hours that CalFresh is telling me that I need to work to maintain my benefits. Because of that refusal to allow me to work 20 hours at City College — despite there being over a million dollars allocated to pay lab aids every single year, with hundreds of thousands of dollars left unspent — I have to look for outside contract work. That takes away from my ability to finish my studies, because I have to prioritize hitting those benchmarks or (lose) my ability to eat.

Finally, the Associated Students have (drafted) a proclamation that we're pushing forward to all of the California Community Colleges, calling on a 20-hour work week because it's so hard to get by when your ceiling for income is $1,058.”