Daniela Orozco Tinoco: Textbook Lending
FROM MEXICO TO VENTURA COLLEGE… AND TOWARD NURSING SCHOOL
Just four years ago, Ventura College pre-nursing student Daniela Orozco Tinoco was living in Mexico. She never thought about attending Ventura College on a series of scholarships. In fact, the very idea of attending school in the United States was, well, foreign.
“When I came here from Mexico four years ago, I knew only very basic English,” remembers Daniela today. “Thank you. Good morning. Goodbye.”
Daniela and her mother left their native land to live with her father, who was already in Ventura as a U.S. citizen. She soon enrolled at Fillmore High School as a sophomore, and she remembers struggling mightily at first.
“I used to cry thinking I wouldn’t be able to go to college and have an education,” says Daniela.
Daniela began meeting up with a same-age cousin and her friends before, during, and after school. At first, they all spoke Spanish. But soon, they began practicing their English more often. Gradually, learning in a U.S. school became less daunting to Daniela.
After graduating from Fillmore High, Daniela made her way to Ventura College. Thanks to the Ventura College Foundation’s VC Promise grant, the David Bianco Textbook Lending Library program, and a series of scholarships, she’s now thriving as a budding pre-nursing student — and preparing to apply to the nursing program at Ventura College and other universities for the fall 2019 semester.
“The David Bianco Textbook Lending Library program lets me get up to three textbooks for free each semester,” explains Daniela. “I was also awarded scholarships from the Ventura College Foundation — two so far. I’m a sophomore now and in the process of applying to transfer to university.”
Thanks to Ventura College, Daniela was selected to participate in a national internship at the University of Nebraska Omaha Medical Center in the summer of 2017.
“We met with students there to get experience in the life of a medical student,” recalls Daniela. “Ventura College is very supportive in many ways. Every professor and faculty member here just wants the best for their students. I’ve received a lot of help from my professors and the tutoring and transfer centers.”
Daniela is quick to point out that her story doesn’t have to be entirely unique to only her.
“My advice would be to never stop believing in yourself and your potential,” says Daniela. “If you don’t understand something, you can always find a solution.”