When Jaime Figueroa was a teenager, he never considered going to college. In fact, most of his friends had already spent time in juvenile hall, and were well on their way to becoming career criminals. For Jaime, going to college wasn't just unobtainable; it was unthinkable. It literally had never crossed his mind. As Jaime explains it, no one in his family had ever attended college, no one even spoke about college, and few people expected him to even finish high school, let alone enroll in a university.
Growing up in North County, Jaime attended a local high school and was constantly in some sort of trouble. Therefore it came as no surprise to Jaime's mother, Cindy, when he became one of the 53 percent of California Latino males to drop out of school. What did come as a surprise is what happened once Jaime enrolled in MiraCosta's Adult High School Diploma Program; he excelled.
In the program, which is offered at the college's Community Learning Center in Oceanside, Jaime finally felt at home. He was treated as an adult, taught time management and study skills, and most importantly, the faculty expected him to succeed instead of assuming that he would fail.
Faithfully each day, Cindy drove Jaime to the Mission Avenue campus. She rejoiced when she saw her son begin to care about his grades. By this time, almost all of Jaime's friends were in jail or prison, but Jaime was beginning to talk about transferring to college.
Once Jaime graduated with his high school diploma, he enrolled at MiraCosta College, where he began to take classes alongside his younger sister, Laura. The two of them made a splash on campus. Jaime took up multiple leadership roles, including working as a student ambassador — a job that took him to high school campuses throughout MiraCosta's district, where he spoke to young students about his struggles in high school and his successes in college. He became involved with the Encuentros Leadership program, a six-year-old North County organization that encourages and supports boys of Latino descent to achieve excellence in education. Jaime also served as the vice president of leadership for the college's Phi Theta Kappa honors society, and graduated this May with a near – 4.0 grade point average.
Meanwhile, Laura, who came to MiraCosta 'without a clue' of what she wanted to do with her professional life, became involved in the student newspaper, where she served as a copy editor and wrote an entertainment column.
Laura says her entire family kept a close eye on the siblings when they began attending MiraCosta; even their distant cousins have told them that they are a great example for the entire family.
Laura and Jaime each earned their associate's degree this past month, and even though they will be transferring to different four-year institutions, they will be neighbors. Jaime will be at UC Berkeley, where he has been accepted into the prestigious Achievement Award Program and offered a substantial scholarship. He will major in Chicano Studies and has plans to attend law school.
Laura will be across the bay at San Francisco State University, where she will be studying to become a sports broadcaster. Jaime was also accepted and offered scholarships to UC Irvine, UCSD and UCLA.
In the meantime, their mother Cindy will be here at MiraCosta, where she is taking English as a second language classes at the Community Learning Center. Needless to say, both of her kids are talking to her about enrolling in college at MiraCosta's Oceanside campus once her English skills are strong enough. They both have their eyes set on Dad, too, who just may become a MiraCosta student himself.
Stories like the Figueroa family's are special, but not rare. All of the 14,000 students who come to MiraCosta each year are connected by the bond of working toward a common goal — to achieve academic success and create better lives for themselves and their families.
The entire MiraCosta family is behind our students and we are so very proud of their successes.
Congratulations to the Figueroa family, and the hundreds of other MiraCosta College graduates who have found success and are on their way to accomplishing great things.
Growing up in North County, Jaime attended a local high school and was constantly in some sort of trouble. Therefore it came as no surprise to Jaime's mother, Cindy, when he became one of the 53 percent of California Latino males to drop out of school. What did come as a surprise is what happened once Jaime enrolled in MiraCosta's Adult High School Diploma Program; he excelled.
In the program, which is offered at the college's Community Learning Center in Oceanside, Jaime finally felt at home. He was treated as an adult, taught time management and study skills, and most importantly, the faculty expected him to succeed instead of assuming that he would fail.
Faithfully each day, Cindy drove Jaime to the Mission Avenue campus. She rejoiced when she saw her son begin to care about his grades. By this time, almost all of Jaime's friends were in jail or prison, but Jaime was beginning to talk about transferring to college.
Once Jaime graduated with his high school diploma, he enrolled at MiraCosta College, where he began to take classes alongside his younger sister, Laura. The two of them made a splash on campus. Jaime took up multiple leadership roles, including working as a student ambassador — a job that took him to high school campuses throughout MiraCosta's district, where he spoke to young students about his struggles in high school and his successes in college. He became involved with the Encuentros Leadership program, a six-year-old North County organization that encourages and supports boys of Latino descent to achieve excellence in education. Jaime also served as the vice president of leadership for the college's Phi Theta Kappa honors society, and graduated this May with a near – 4.0 grade point average.
Meanwhile, Laura, who came to MiraCosta 'without a clue' of what she wanted to do with her professional life, became involved in the student newspaper, where she served as a copy editor and wrote an entertainment column.
Laura says her entire family kept a close eye on the siblings when they began attending MiraCosta; even their distant cousins have told them that they are a great example for the entire family.
Laura and Jaime each earned their associate's degree this past month, and even though they will be transferring to different four-year institutions, they will be neighbors. Jaime will be at UC Berkeley, where he has been accepted into the prestigious Achievement Award Program and offered a substantial scholarship. He will major in Chicano Studies and has plans to attend law school.
Laura will be across the bay at San Francisco State University, where she will be studying to become a sports broadcaster. Jaime was also accepted and offered scholarships to UC Irvine, UCSD and UCLA.
In the meantime, their mother Cindy will be here at MiraCosta, where she is taking English as a second language classes at the Community Learning Center. Needless to say, both of her kids are talking to her about enrolling in college at MiraCosta's Oceanside campus once her English skills are strong enough. They both have their eyes set on Dad, too, who just may become a MiraCosta student himself.
Stories like the Figueroa family's are special, but not rare. All of the 14,000 students who come to MiraCosta each year are connected by the bond of working toward a common goal — to achieve academic success and create better lives for themselves and their families.
The entire MiraCosta family is behind our students and we are so very proud of their successes.
Congratulations to the Figueroa family, and the hundreds of other MiraCosta College graduates who have found success and are on their way to accomplishing great things.