College to Career Success!
April 1, 2024
From navigating new beginnings in the United States at thirteen to breaking ground with Caltrans, College to Career program graduate Maria shares her journey.
Maria graduated from Sacramento State University last summer with a degree in civil engineering and is now working for Caltrans for Alameda County. Her support system, including her family and Canal Alliance, helped Maria graduate.
Maria’s educational journey began when she arrived in the United States at the age of 13. She was in the 7th grade when she and her family made it to Marin. They received support from Canal Alliance’s Immigration Legal Service (ILS) team.
Her family emigrated from El Salvador to the United States to create a better opportunity for Maria. In addition to getting legal assistance at the time, the ILS team informed Maria about the University Prep (UP!) Program to help her adjust and access the resources needed to adapt to a new school workload. Maria was immediately able to enroll in the UP! program and receive support with English and Math homework.
“For me, Canal Alliance is a positive place to be in because they genuinely help the community. While I was in community college, I found opportunities to give back to the Canal community by volunteering.”
Maria contributed to the murals in front of the Canal Alliance building, volunteered with the weekly food distribution on Tuesdays, and, lastly, during the lockdown, helped with the COVID-19 resource pop-ups, distributing papers for clients. She enjoyed being involved in the community when she was in High School and community college.
She shared that having somebody there who was always supportive helped her through her journey in and out of college.
“I transferred to Sacramento State from the College of Marin. When I transferred to a 4-year university, Fabiola Hernandez Lopez would check in on me, talk every two weeks, discuss how my classes how my classes were going and if I needed any support.”
She lived with her parents until she transferred to Sacramento State University. Moving to a different part of the state was a challenge, but the overwhelming support from her family and Canal Alliance made this transition easier.
“I didn’t feel alone; I had someone to look up to and someone to ask for help if I needed it. Being the first in my family to attend college, they couldn’t help with all the questions I had. I’m grateful for someone to rely on at Canal Alliance.”
Maria is now back living in the Bay Area with a Range A classification for Alameda County as of December 1st, 2023. Her five-year plan is to obtain the Professional Engineer Seal, which requires her to take two tests. Obtaining this license would allow her to advance in her career and become a project manager in the civil engineering industry.
