\u201cPalomar made it possible for me to take my first year of college tuition-free and close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n
FALLBROOK \u2014 As one of the first students to set foot inside a classroom at Palomar College\u2019s new Fallbrook Education Center, Melissa Barrera graduated high school with perfect timing.<\/p>\n
In the spring of 2018, when Barrera was finishing her senior year at Fallbrook High, the college was putting the final touches on an education center that would bring a range of in-demand classes and programs within reach.<\/p>\n
In Barrera\u2019s case, working a part-time job in downtown Fallbrook and without reliable transportation, she said it would have been a stretch to attend classes at the main campus in San Marcos. But with the opening of a Fallbrook Education Center, the pieces came together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s closer to home, and financially, I save gas money by not having to drive back and forth,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really convenient to have this campus here.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a recent high school graduate, Barrera was also able to take advantage of the Palomar Promise, joining the second year of college freshmen to receive free tuition, textbook assistance, and individualized academic and career counseling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Promise, you start out ahead\u2014I didn\u2019t know about graduation or transfer requirements before I took advantage of the Promise,\u201d Barrera said. \u201cBooks are expensive, and I don\u2019t think I would have been able to afford buying books these past two semesters, if it wasn\u2019t for the Promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The youngest of four siblings, Barrera is a first-generation college student and only the second person in her family to pursue higher education. She grew up in Fallbrook and plans to transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in Sociology. Ultimately, she said, she hopes to work at an elementary school\u2014perhaps as a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in education,\u201d she said. \u201cI love learning, and the fact that there is an opportunity now in Fallbrook for students to take college classes, I think that\u2019s great. You can never go wrong with education. Having a college campus here is a great step for Fallbrook\u2014and for Palomar, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she enters her second year at Palomar, Barrera stands as an example of the kind of opportunities the college is creating for its students, said Superintendent\/President Dr. Joi Lin Blake.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelissa\u2019s story represents hundreds of first-year students who might not have been able to pursue their higher education dreams if not for the Palomar Promise and our new education centers in Fallbrook and Rancho Bernardo,\u201d said Dr. Blake.<\/p>\n
For her part, Barrera said she looks forward to continuing her education and perhaps one day returning to Fallbrook with a degree and the ability to help local children travel a similar path.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to Palomar,\u201d she said, \u201cI feel like I have a good foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"