Stories

Gabriel Fajardo successfully completed his Ventura College experience.

Hard at work in the classroom, deeply immersed in a 23-credit-unit final semester as he approached the finish line for graduation in 2023, Gabriel took a moment to reflect on how much everything and everyone has meant to him during his time here.

Summyr Levitoff isn’t afraid to admit it. After several previous returns to higher education had stalled out, she was somewhat afraid to return to college. As a mother of three now raising two young children on her own in the wake of their father’s passing, Summyr had real concerns and hesitations.

Diego Salas is as impressive a 20-year-old young man as you can meet. He helps his mother run her daycare business. He has earned four impactful scholarships from the Ventura College Foundation while attending Ventura College, where graduated on May 19, 2023. He has a crystal clear vision of where he’s headed next (CSU Channel Islands this fall)—and what the ideal future looks like for both him and his fellow Mexican-Americans.

While a student in Ventura, Isabel received the Bill Miller Memorial Scholarship and the Miriam Schwan Memorial Aquatics Scholarship from the Ventura College Foundation. She competed on the women’s water polo team, playing a pivotal role on a team that posted a sparkling 20-7 record during the 2021-2022 season.

Single father to two teenage girls. Instructional aid in the Rio School District. Re-entry student and scholarship recipient at Ventura College set to graduate by 2025.

George Casarez is all of this and more—and his life is forever enriched thanks to the Ventura College Foundation.

Octavius Licon has seen, been, done, and felt quite a bit in his thirty years. From a foster child to a homeless adult alcoholic to a construction worker to a decorated re-entry student at Ventura College, Octavius’ path has danced and darted around like one of his original performance compositions.

Xavier Terminello is grateful for the many memories, friends, and strides they have made in their two years at Ventura College. But one message stands out above all others to the versatile, energetic, and talented 19-year-old Economics and Psychology major.

Anna Heaton came to the United States from Russia at the tender age of five. When she entered kindergarten, she didn’t speak a single word of English.

Erick Pina doesn’t have to think back too long ago to remember his darkest days.

“Just a few years ago, I had no direction and felt like I had no purpose,” remembers Erick.

Daisy Castillo has held a lot of responsibilities in just 19 years. A first-generation college student at Ventura College, Daisy grew up in a low-income, single-parent household in Santa Paula.

Growing up in Santa Paula, Edward Ramirez recalls his parents always emphasizing the power of education.

Christina Montrose has overcome many challenges in her life. She grew up in a household with an alcoholic father who insisted college was a waste of time and money.

Elijah Walker knows exactly what he wants to do. Where he wants to go. And who he wants to take with him. You might say his dreams and goals are pretty far out.

Vanessa Velazquez feels she owes a lot to Ventura College – as well as the Ventura College Foundation’s Weekend Marketplace.

TJ Foreman found tremendous success at Ventura College. Both on the baseball diamond and inside the classroom. You might even say he was Golden.

Audrey Castillo is on quite a run.

The 19-year-old Oxnard native turned in a sensational sophomore soccer season at Ventura College, leading the Pirates to a 10-7-5 record…

Difficult childhood to medical assistant goals Claudia Pariso was born and raised in Oildale, Calif., a town of about 32,000 just north of Bakersfield.

The financial struggle of pursuing education is a reality for so many, including myself Safia Reazi had long wanted to join the engineering field but, upon graduation from high school, her financial situation was tenuous.

From low-income housing to a double major Samuel Ponce grew up in low-income housing, in an environment where higher education was unobtainable.

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.

Like so many Ventura County residents, Deonn Crilly was deeply affected by the Thomas Fire during the final days of 2017.

You might say Shawn McCoy has come through hell and high water. But as far as he’s concerned, the science of water is what matters most.

Born in the Philippines and settling in Oxnard at the age of nine, Carl Dela Cruz never imagined his future would go to the depths of its current course.

Giovani Bautista can remember a time not too long ago when life seemed a lot less certain — and a college education seemed almost surely out of reach.

Teresa Housley’s life has taken an incredible series of twists and turns. From six-figure sales supervisor to living in a campground.