Celina Ramirez Herrera

Celina is the third in a family of four children. She struggled academically at Weston Ranch High School in Stockton, but has become a stellar student at Cal State LA.

“I didn’t become aware of college until my senior year of high school. I didn’t think it was possible for me because no one in my family had gone to college. I noticed the struggles my mom was going through financially after the divorce. It was really hard not having enough, not being sure of our housing situation. How can I think of college when we’re having a hard time getting through the day?

My goal was to enter the workforce, get a minimum wage job and help my mom. Then I realized that’s only going to help us in the short term. I needed something that would help us in the long term to get us out of the situation. When I started college, I was taking remedial courses. Now I have a 3.89 GPA and am part of the Honors College.

EOP offered me workshops my freshman year. When I took college algebra, they offered workshops that were really helpful. They helped me to stay focused and avoid procrastinating. Without EOP, it would be harder financially to stay here. They offered me the EOP grant and a connection to other things.

In high school, the problem was too many distractions. My grades are good here because there are no distractions. I want to go to law school. My EOP counselor said, ‘I think you can do something as big a Harvard and Columbia.’ Having people tell me that feels good because I never thought I would be able to achieve something that great.”