September 7-10, 2019 – Long Beach, CA
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] Thinking of the EOP family at Chico State often brings tears of joy and happiness—without this program I would not have graduated from college. The support EOP provided me can be compared to a “life navigator” of sorts. Every...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] When I think of EOP the first thing that comes to my mind is that I did not know what was in store for me. As a first-generation college student in my family, coming from a financially disadvantaged background,...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] When I reflect back on my first college experience at Fresno State in the fall of 1988, EOP represented the “safety net” for success that I so desperately needed. Growing up with a single mother who was a welfare...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] I grew up in a small town in California’s Central Valley where the norm was to work in agriculture or the service industry. I knew I had to go to college, somehow, so I worked hard in school, I...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] One of my career accomplishments that I am proud of is developing the school social work position for Fresno Unified School District. In my role as an attendance, I recognized that poor attendance was merely a symptom of a...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] A memory that comes to mind when I think about EOP is Summer Bridge! At first, I was not excited about attending summer school, but I knew that it would help me get ahead and it did. I was...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] I first heard about EOP when I was just starting at City College of San Francisco; however, I heard about EOP a little too late. EOP at CCSF had so many different opportunities and financial support for students enrolled...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] Cynthia Ruiz grew up in Highland Park. She graduated from Cal State LA in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in Chicano Studies and rehabilitation counseling, and in 1980 with a master’s in rehabilitation counseling. “My parents divorced when I was...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] “I became fully aware of my college options because of Margie Garcia. She had such an electrifying college center at Baldwin Park High School. She had me apply to all the Cal States. Senior year, personal things started happening with...
[vc_separator type='transparent' position='center' color='' thickness='' up='40' down='40'] The first memory that comes to mind is my first experience at Grad Forum at UC Merced. I will never forget how inspiring and welcoming the event was. It truly helped my get over a great fear of moving...
