Graduates Find End of the Rainbow

Before he applied to Oxnard College, Juan Elias was working at Taco Bell for $6.25 an hour. He wanted to go to college but knew he couldn’t afford it.

Then he learned of a program that offered low-income students free tuition and books--all he had to do was go to school full time. The 20-year-old Elias jumped at the chance.

On Friday, he graduated with an associate’s degree in liberal arts during a commencement ceremony in the college gymnasium. Without the assistance program, he said, he would never have been able to finish school.

“The price of the books alone will kill you,” he said.

In addition to tuition waivers and book vouchers, the state-funded Extended Opportunity Program and Services offers students peer advising, counseling and tutoring. Students must make less than $7,500 annually for one person or less than $15,000 for a two-person family to be eligible.

Coordinator Ana Maria Valle said that about one-fourth of this year’s 400 Oxnard College graduates were participants--and that for many of the students, the financial and personal assistance was crucial.

“This is the support system for them,” she said. “They know they can always come here and get an answer.”

Johnetta Johnson, 33, got laid off from her job as an office assistant and had to apply for unemployment two years ago. As a mother of a 7-year-old son, Johnson said she couldn’t have paid tuition and is grateful for the financial help she received.

“I think $12 per unit [tuition] is pretty good, but when you get laid off, it’s kind of hard,” she said.

Johnson, who also graduated Friday, plans to pursue a career as an administrative assistant. She said she felt proud to walk across the stage in her bright blue cap and gown.

In an unusual tradition, Oxnard College allows its graduates--250 of whom attended the ceremony--to give very brief speeches in their native languages.

One woman thanked her husband for driving her to her first Oxnard College class 24 years ago--and now she was finally graduating. Another woman thanked her daughter for giving her good night kisses that made studying late worth the effort. Another thanked her mother, whom she saw for the first time in four years Friday.

Emilia McBride, 21, thanked the staff of Extended Opportunity Program and Services. “Because of them, I’m determined to pursue my education,” she told the crowd. Both she and her husband, James McBride--who also graduated Friday--relied on the assistance. Now, they are both transferring to UC Berkeley.

“If it wasn’t for the right guidance, we wouldn’t have made it,” she said.

Across the county at Moorpark College, 46-year-old Michal Phillips was one of about 300 people who graduated there Friday. Three years ago, she was working at a flower shop and struggling to raise her son when a customer changed her life.

The customer told Phillips she had the kind of chutzpah to make a great corrections officer. And the customer would know--she had a top job at the California Youth Authority in Camarillo. As Phillips handed the woman a bundle of flowers, she took the stranger’s advice to heart.

Phillips subsequently enrolled in Moorpark College and took a course in probation, parole and corrections. She aced the class.

“Not too bad for someone who hadn’t stepped foot on a campus since 1971,” she said, referring to a one-year stint at Cal Poly.

Raising her son alone, it wasn’t easy for Phillips to earn her degree in criminal justice. She almost dropped out when she couldn’t afford to buy books. That was when she turned to another program aimed at helping low-income students.

“I feel like I’m always striving so hard to get somewhere,” Phillips said before lining up to receive her diploma. “I finally accomplished something.”

Even before her graduation, Phillips got a job in her field. She now works as a correction officer at the California Youth Authority.

Sourena Vasseghi graduated from Moorpark College with a 4.0 grade point average. Vasseghi, who has cerebral palsy, cannot write and took all his exams orally.

Just getting to classes was an accomplishment for Vasseghi, who had to negotiate the large campus in a wheelchair. Despite these achievements, he is unsatisfied with himself. “I always feel like I should be doing more,” said Vasseghi, sitting with his father, Ben, before the commencement ceremony began.

In September, he will face a personal and academic challenge. He will move out of his parents’ home and into a dorm at USC. “It’s scary, but I have to do it in order to grow,” said Vasseghi, who will study marketing. “I want to make my life as fulfilling as I can.”

Gorman is a Times staff writer and Johnson is a reporter for Times Community News.