Christian Tripp

I joined EOP at San Diego State University (SDSU) as a freshman during Fall 2007, where Chia Her counseled me. When I started at SDSU, I was a misguided, aimless student, and felt like I was going to University out of obligation. This mentality, coupled with life events, led to my disqualification from SDSU in 2009, due to poor academic performance. At the time, I remember visiting my department for advice, and the department advisor said that the chances of me climbing out of my current scenario (I had a 1.9 GPA at the time) were virtually impossible. Chia, however, never gave up on me. This experience woke me up. I embarked on a two-year journey to get back into University, maintaining a 3.8 GPA while at a community college, and then over a 3.5 GPA upon my return to SDSU. Throughout this journey, Chia guided me with strategy and counseling even while I wasn’t on campus. Thanks to her, I was able to achieve my goal of studying abroad in Brazil in 2014, which I consider among the proudest moments of my life. Now, with my degree in Economics, and fluency in English and Spanish, I am able to leverage these skills into my current success. EOP not only provided some much-needed financial assistance, but also was there to listen to me through my struggles, and also to share my successes.

I advice future EOP students to take full advantage of the resources provided by EOP, and more importantly, to cherish the counseling that is provided to them. I can truly say that without Chia, I wouldn’t be where I am today.