He Went Far Without Leaving His Hometown

You could say that Mike Flory got a complete hometown education.

He attended elementary, junior high and high schools in Fullerton. From there, it was off to Fullerton College, Cal State Fullerton and Western State University of Law.

The 29-year-old Ventura County deputy district attorney, who wants to return to the city where he grew up and eventually work there, said he planned to go to college in his hometown on purpose.

“There was no reason to go anywhere else,” Flory said. “I didn’t even apply anywhere else. . . . I kept my job, kept my friends, kept in touch with my family and went to school with no adjustment period. If I had gone out of town to study, there would have been an adjustment period--time to find a new job, get new friends and get used to a new home. I just cut out the adjustment period.”

Indeed, getting his bachelor’s and law degrees just minutes away from the home where his parents still live was convenient for Flory, who would ride his bicycle or walk to class. “It just worked out perfect,” he said.

There were a few glitches, though.

As a freshman marketing student at Cal State Fullerton in 1986, he had to take some of his classes at Fullerton College because the same undergraduate classes at the university were full and unavailable. And, throughout his college career, there wasn’t much of a night life around the city’s five colleges and universities when Flory was a student.

Now, almost five years after he graduated from Western State, the five campuses are teaming up to better serve their students. Administrators have even taken steps to make it easier to enroll in classes.

In addition, downtown Fullerton merchants are opening businesses that they hope will attract the college crowd. They also are working on ways to create a night life in the district to increase foot traffic.

College students are a prime target, said Jack Franklyn, owner of Heroes Bar and Grill, located a few blocks south of Fullerton College.

He noted that a number of coffee shops, bars and restaurants have opened in the downtown area and already are bringing in many college-age patrons. At his own bar, he said he has noticed a group of Western State students who regularly come for lunch and others who hang out at nearby businesses, sipping cappuccinos and studying.

“I’ve been waiting for five years for this to happen,” said Franklyn, 32. “There was nothing down here when I was a student. If I was a student today, though, I wouldn’t leave town.”

Flory, whose mother is a city councilwoman, said he feels the same way. He said the only reason why he moved to Ventura three years ago was because of his job. But he said he hopes to return soon and work in the city where he got his education.

“It’s definitely not a college town yet, but it’s heading in that direction,” he said.