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<\/p>\nThree of the original Student Ambassadors who advised Palomar\u2019s Pathways committee are pursuing advanced degrees in various fields. They reflect on what it was like to travel the path through community college.<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Three students who participated in developing Palomar Pathways during their time at the college have gone on to universities in pursuit of higher degrees\u2014examples of the very success they helped to envision for their peers.<\/p>\n
Crystal Figueroa, Kory Nokes and Aimee Perez were three of the original Student Ambassadors, representing thousands of current and future Palomar College students who will benefit from a clarified, simplified experience, from enrollment through completion.<\/p>\n
During a recent interview, the three alumni\u2014who became friends while serving on the Guided Pathways committee\u2014discussed their experiences while they studied at Palomar and helped shape the college\u2019s instructional approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe included student ambassadors (in the planning process) because it\u2019s so important, as we transform our college, to get student input\u2014to have them involved in these big changes,\u201d said Wendy Nelson, a Palomar College Professor and Guided Pathways Team Lead. \u201cThese students attended our meetings, gave us feedback, did projects on their own, did outreach, created a logo for Guided Pathways at Palomar College, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were recruited to the committee personally by Interim Superintendent\/President Dr. Jack Kahn, then serving as Assistant Superintendent\/Vice President of Instruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so proud of our Student Ambassadors and the work we have done together to improve the student experience at Palomar College,\u201d said Dr. Kahn. \u201cThese three individuals are exemplary in their commitment to Palomar College, but more importantly, in the pursuit of their goals through higher education. We wish them all the best, and thank them for their good work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Figueroa, who lives in San Marcos, came to Palomar from Mission Hills High School. She said she discovered her love of computer science at Palomar and is now studying at UC Merced, where she will earn her Computer Science & Engineering degree in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I was at Palomar, it was definitely easy to find what I wanted to do,\u201d said Figueroa. \u201cAnd now Guided Pathways lets you start your general education, even if you don\u2019t know what you want to do\u2014to buy a little time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She recalled serving on the Guided Pathways committee with Palomar College faculty and administration, with major changes and big questions at stake.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think at the end they definitely took what we said to heart and listened,\u201d she said, adding that she looks back with pride on the committee\u2019s work, even though the collaborative process was at times stressful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI strongly believe in Guided Pathways, and I believe it\u2019s going to help students figure out where they want to go\u2014even if it\u2019s just an associate degree,\u201d said Figueroa.<\/p>\n
Nokes came to Palomar College as a member of Transitions<\/a>, the \u201cCorrections to College\u201d program, and soon discovered his love of mathematics. He now works in Palomar\u2019s Counseling Department while studying at Cal State San Marcos, with plans to pursue his PhD.<\/p>\n As representatives of the student body, he added, \u201cWe\u2019d always bring it back to the students and what would be best for them. That\u2019s critical in this process, and I think we paved the way for reciprocal communication. They saw we worked hard, we were serious, and we really did care about our fellow students.\u201d<\/p>\n Nokes\u2019 path in higher education has been different than most, and he said he has learned that \u201cit\u2019s really important for students to get involved\u2014not just sit back idly and take your classes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really cool that all three of us are pushing,\u201d he said, referring to Figueroa and Perez. \u201cWithout Palomar, I wouldn\u2019t have known this was the path. Working at Palomar showed me that I really enjoyed getting involved in education\u2014I really like the process, I really like being a part of things that are going on.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally from Vista, Perez moved to Riverside County as a teenager to attend John F. Kennedy Middle College High School. She returned to North County to attend Palomar\u2014and in the process discovered her path to the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was going to be a nurse, but my first semester at Palomar, I took a psychology class and I was like, \u2018This is what I want to do.\u2019 So I\u2019m a psychology major now,\u201d recalled Perez, who plans to finish her bachelor\u2019s at UC San Diego before doing clinical psychology work and then pursuing her doctorate.<\/p>\n She recalled being recruited by Dr. Kahn because she wasn\u2019t afraid to speak her mind \u201cand that\u2019s why he wanted me for the job. He wanted us to be totally honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Of five original student ambassadors, one was an Italian exchange student, and majors ranged from math to film to computers to psychology: \u201cAll of us are different majors, we come from different backgrounds with different things we wanted to get out of Palomar,\u201d said Perez, \u201cso I think it worked really well that we could say, \u2018We come from different backgrounds, but we all agree on this.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, students don\u2019t know where to go to talk about their experience,\u201d she added. \u201cBut even in our classes, we had flyers, we had stickers\u2014everything to get the word out: \u2018The administration is trying to hear your voice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on her own journey, Perez offered this advice to those who are still on their way through Palomar College: \u201cEveryone graduates in their own time, so don\u2019t compare yourself to another student. Take your time to learn what you like.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make it easier for our students to complete,\u201d said Wendy Nelson. \u201cIf we do this right, we could really make profound changes at our community colleges. It\u2019s really, really thinking about students every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson said Guided Pathways is not a program that students have to opt into, but a \u201creimagining\u201d of many aspects of the community college experience.<\/p>\n The most visible result, called the Program Mapper<\/a>, which helps students envision their higher education and reach their goals faster.<\/p>\n Guided Pathways is part of a statewide initiative intended to establish \u201cintegrated, institution-wide approach to student success by creating structured educational experiences that support each student from point of entry to attainment of high-quality postsecondary credentials and careers.\u201d It includes four \u201cpillars\u201d or elements to help ensure student success:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2021\/03\/Guided-Pathways-students-1-300x200.jpg\")
\u201cI had a lot of people in my corner, who really helped me get where I wanted to go,\u201d said Nokes, who used a variety of pathway-language to describe his experience at Palomar. \u201cMy favorite part of Guided Pathways was the student meetings we had. We really respected each other, and we were really able to talk about things as students\u2014what we needed.\u201d<\/p>\nAimee Perez<\/h2>\n
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