\u2018Palomar made it possible for me to earn my Bachelor of Science in a highly challenging field.\u2019<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Jose Valencia graduated high school in 2007 like so many other students: not knowing what to do next, let alone what to do with the rest of his life.<\/p>\n
Fast forward 12 years, and Valencia is now on the cusp of a career in electrical engineering, having graduated from California State University, Long Beach in May with his Bachelor of Science.<\/p>\n
The road to earning such a challenging and highly technical degree began at Palomar, Valencia explained during a recent interview on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember getting my first A in one of the history classes here\u2014that\u2019s what got the ball rolling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Valencia remembers enjoying mathematics; pursuing his interests, he enrolled in Intermediate Algebra at Palomar and soon decided he wanted to become an engineer. Before he was done, he would take nearly all of the upper-level math classes here, including Calculus and Differential Equations.<\/p>\n
While at Palomar, he also learned how to tutor other students\u2014a job that would carry him through his undergraduate experience at Long Beach. In all, Valencia would spend four years as a math and engineering tutor between Palomar and Cal State Long Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt good to come full circle, from not being a good student to being a tutor by the end,\u201d he said. \u201cI got to help a lot of students.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a student in Long Beach, Valencia got off to a rough start.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater, I came to find out, that\u2019s normal in engineering\u2014you may have to repeat a class, or you may barely pass, depending on the professor, but you may learn more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said nothing ever came easy to him in college, and he remembers his first math teachers at Palomar with special fondness.<\/p>\n
\u201cPalomar is where I feel I got my real education,\u201d said Valencia. \u201cI had the best professors here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now 30 years old, Valencia has moved back to his hometown of San Marcos and said he likes his prospects: \u201cThere are a lot of electrical engineering jobs in San Diego County. Right now, I\u2019m just starting my job search. I\u2019m ready to get my career started.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also plans to earn his master\u2019s degree. But for now, he said, he is content to enjoy the fruits of five demanding years of higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cPalomar made it possible for me to earn my Bachelor of Science in a highly challenging field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"