Motorsports, Reading, Gardening, Dining, Travel, Walking my dog

I consider myself a bit of a community college success story. Right after I graduated from high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I understood that going to college was important. I enrolled, struggled, and quit my first attempt at a four-year school because I didn't get the support I needed. Later, while working as a tire and battery installer, I decided to follow my passion for cars and get an automotive technology certificate, and later, an associate's degree at community college to learn the skills needed for a good-paying job. While I went to community college I continued to work, earning my way up in skills and pay.

I enjoyed community college so much that I decided to return to get a transferable degree that enabled me to do something I only dreamed of doing as a teen: graduate from UC Berkeley with a bachelor's degree. I am certain that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn about the ideas, concepts and theories that intrigued me at Berkeley if I hadn't first obtained the support and critical thinking skills from a transferable degree program at a community college. At the same time, without first attending community college, I wouldn't have learned the skills I needed to get the high paying, skilled career I wanted.

So I have ultimately managed to merge my interest in automotive technology and my educational background to demonstrate my appreciation of community college as an institution. It is my goal to model, mentor and support students in the pursuit of their passion. I love my career as an instructor at CRC because I know first-hand that community college has the power to transform lives!