The Brief

For Julio Rivera, transferring from a local community college to a bachelor’s program in nursing was always a top priority. As someone who enjoyed helping others, nursing seemed like a natural career. While caring for an aunt with renal failure and Type 2 diabetes, a conversation with her solidified the belief that nursing was his calling.

“She said, ‘You have it. You can really tell that you care about people,’” Rivera said.

The pandemic put a pause on Rivera’s education as hospitals had difficulty accommodating student nurses. Rivera applied to public programs in San Bernardino County, but many of them were severely limiting clinical training, or not accepting new applicants at the time.

Instead, the 33-year-old chose an increasingly popular option — a private nursing program that would have a six-figure sticker price but guarantee him a timely degree. After finishing his pre-reqs, he transferred from Mt. San Antonio College to the Ontario campus of West Coast University.

Private nursing schools are teaching more students each year, filling in the gaps as California hospitals face increasing staffing shortages and public, four-year universities struggle to grow. According to the California Board of Registered Nursing, in 2021 nearly 64,300 students applied for just 16,600 spots in associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree nursing programs. About 55% of those spots were at private institutions.

Prospective registered nurses have several pathways to their career. Associate degrees typically take two years to complete before students can take the licensing exam to become registered nurses. Bachelor’s degrees take more time with more intensive training, and increase the likelihood of career advancement and preferable hospital placement.

Although public and private programs each graduated about 6,700 nurses from all levels of degree programs in 2022, private colleges graduated three times the number of students with bachelor’s degrees as public schools. Public programs accounted for over five times as many associate degree completions than their private counterparts.

While public programs cost a fraction of private school tuition, the number of students graduating from private programs has doubled over the past 10 years while the number from public programs has remained stagnant. Students who seek to complete a bachelor’s of science in nursing program in California and advance their nursing career are faced with a difficult and unpredictable cost-benefit analysis: Apply to competitive UC and CSU public nursing programs with average tuition prices totaling about $39,000 or secure an education at a private nursing program for an average of $130,000.

Qualified applicants clamor for coveted bachelor’s program spots

Sima Sadaghiani, a nursing student at University of San Francisco, knew she wanted to be a nurse after spending time in the hospital with a sick family member during high school.

“I wanted something that would help me grow and develop and change other people’s lives,” Sadaghiani said. While in the hospital, she saw how nurses play a role beyond just administering medication, oftentimes providing mental support and educating patients about health and wellness.

When Sadaghiani applied to nursing school two years ago, she applied to private and public programs all over the state. She said the process of getting into a UC or CSU nursing program felt “all by chance,” even if an applicant had perfect grades and pre-career experiences. When she did not get into the public programs she applied to, she chose University of San Francisco because of its small class sizes, proximity to where she grew up in the Bay Area, and diversity of the patients in the area.

Nursing students practice injection procedures in the clinical skills lab at the University of San Francisco in San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2023. Photo by Amir Aziz for CalMatters According to the state registered nursing board, the number of qualified applicants for bachelor’s programs has nearly tripled from 12,476 in 2012 to 35,474 in 2021, the last year for which this data is available. There was only space for about a quarter of the total qualified applicants statewide. The board serves as the licensing and regulatory body for all nurses in the state and is responsible for approving all expansions to nursing programs operating in California.

West Coast University boasts one of the largest nursing programs in the state, with 3,089 bachelor’s students across its three campuses in California, plus one in Texas and another in Florida. It costs around $146,000 to complete the school’s nursing bachelor’s degree.

Nearly 80% of students at West Coast University identified as being from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, and 21% of their students are male, said Dean of Nursing Katie Kay. The school also serves more “non-traditional” students, offering courses throughout the summer and clinical training on weekends to give students many options to complete their degrees.

High cost leads to high return on investment

Private nursing programs can cost up to seven times as much as public programs.

Oge Okoye, a sophomore at the University of San Francisco, cast a wide net when applying to nursing school as a high school senior in Sacramento. She focused on colleges that have direct-entry, meaning if she got into the university, she would be guaranteed a spot in the school’s nursing program. The University of San Francisco offered her a four-year, full scholarship through their Black Scholars Program, which prepares Black nursing students to work in underserved communities.

“It came down to finances,” Okoye said. As one of three children, she wanted to alleviate the financial burden on her parents when it came to college. Without the scholarship, she could not have afforded the University of San Francisco’s $226,000 sticker price, one of the highest costs of attendance among private bachelor’s nursing programs. Her backup plan was attending Gonzaga University, a less expensive option, which she would have paid for with loans, scholarships, and financial aid.

College administrators say that the nursing field’s stability and high salaries mean students are able to pay off debt without defaulting on student loans.

“Our graduates are averaging positions after graduation (that pay) over $100,000 a year salary, so they’re well-positioned to pay back any loans that they were using to complete the program,” Kay said.

The average salary for a registered nurse in California as of May 2022 was $133,000 — the highest compensation for registered nurses in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Martha Buck, a doctoral nursing student at University of San Diego, attended the University of Alabama for her bachelor’s degree before working eight years as an emergency room nurse in various hospitals around the country. Buck said she chose to continue schooling and attend the private doctoral program in San Diego — regardless of the $168,346 price tag — because of its reputable curriculum and resources dedicated to clinical training.

“After weighing the different options at different schools, I felt like I was getting more bang for my buck or a better value coming to USD,” Buck said. “Even though it was more expensive, the program seemed more robust.”

Buck said her eight-year nursing career has been fulfilling, but she chose to get her doctoral degree because she desired a more independent career as a nurse practitioner. Certified nurse practitioners can diagnose ailments, prescribe treatments and conduct tests on patients while being paid $158,130 on average in California, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I liked the idea of health care in general… I realized nursing is a really neat way to be around a ton of different people from different walks of life,” Buck said.

Despite the potential return on investment, the president of the California Nursing Association, Catherine Kennedy, said California could lose more potential nurses if admissions for public schools stagnate and private school prices remain high.

“I’ve talked to [prospective] nurses here in the state of California that can’t get into a program here,” said Kennedy, who has worked as a nurse for 42 years. “They end up going next door to Nevada, and they’re going to private schools, and it’s pretty pricey.”

Private programs expand despite challenges

To meet the demand for nursing education in California, 11 new private programs have opened in the past seven years — six of those between 2021 and 2022.

However, a shortage of nursing faculty has created another bottleneck in the field. Fewer clinical trainers and difficulties in attracting faculty have significantly impacted the training capacity of hospitals and universities. Private and public schools alike struggle to find the instructors needed to support and teach students.

“When I talk to clinical faculty, or I’m interviewing clinical faculty, and I tell them how much I pay, they’re like ‘I can make that much working a shift,’” said Eileen Fry-Bowers, the dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco.

The average yearly salary of a college nursing instructor in California is $104,000, which is $29,000 less than the average registered nurse salary, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nursing instructors must have clinical training experience, an advanced nursing degree, and one year of experience teaching or assisting in a classroom to become a certified instructor through the state registered nursing board.

Fry-Bowers believes there needs to be more incentives for nurses to fill teaching positions. She said that increasing workforce development grants, adding more scholarships for advanced nursing degrees, and reconsidering the requirements for nursing faculty would all help to develop more faculty to teach students.

Trainer shortages in hospitals

In January this year, the state registered nursing board set the requirement for clinical training to 500 hours of direct patient care. This hands-on experience is guided by trained nurses to prepare future graduates to support patients in hospital settings. However, hospitals are already struggling with a nursing shortage, which means clinical trainers are in short supply as well.

Kimberly Dunker, dean of nursing at Pacific Union College — a private, Seventh-day Adventist college in Angwin in Napa County — said clinical trainer shortages have had significant impacts. With 848 students in the program, Pacific Union graduated 67% of their nursing students on time in 2021, lower than the 85% statewide average, according to the state registered nursing board.

“If you don’t have [trainers]…that are able to supervise those nurses in the hospital setting, it really causes a delay,” Dunker said.

Eleanor Eberhard, the chief operating officer and chief nursing executive at Sequoia Hospital, a small facility in Redwood City, says the hospitals can only support so many students. The location trains between 15 and 20 students each semester, with two or three instructors working with the students. Nurses at the hospital are paid to work as preceptors, experienced nurses who teach in clinical settings.

Nursing schools are finding “very creative” solutions to prepare faculty to teach classes and obtain enough clinical placements for their students, Fry-Bowers said. The administrative staff at the University of San Francisco work with hospitals, which determine available shifts for student nurse training, and then the staff have to find faculty who are available at that time to work with students.

“It’s a puzzle, and [all the pieces] need to fit together in order for us to deliver the product to our already enrolled students, let alone increase those numbers,” Fry-Bowers said.

Nursing students practice injection procedures in the clinical skills lab at the University of San Francisco in San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2023. Photo by Amir Aziz for CalMatters Large programs like the University of San Francisco have over 100 clinical partners where students train, some as far as 60 miles away from campus.

“We’re competing with other schools,” said Tammy Valenta, program director for the Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland. “Even though we don’t always get as many hours as we hoped for…our students graduate with at least 800, often more than that.”

Even with faculty and clinical placement shortages, Samuel Merritt University plans to support program growth by directing their training to more community-based, outpatient settings working with the elderly, mothers and children, or unhoused people.

West Coast University — like some other private programs — rotates students at different hospitals, private practices, emergency rooms, student health centers and various other clinical sites.

The future is expanding for nursing programs

Despite being outpaced by private program growth, some public nursing programs in California are expanding. Earlier this year, UC Davis received about $6 million and Riverside City College received about $2.7 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand their programs. A $40 million gift from the William & Sue Gross Family Foundation will enable UC Irvine to double its faculty and enrollment over the next 10 years. In Huntington Beach, Golden West Community College’s School of Nursing received approval from the California Board of Registered Nursing to add 80 more students to its associate degree program. That will bring enrollment to 200 and add an option for students to also earn their bachelor’s degree in partnership with Cal State San Bernardino.

Nursing Association President Kennedy said that she believes expanding educational and professional pathways through community colleges and associate degrees could help to reduce the nursing shortage. This could potentially decrease pressure on private schools to continue enrolling with insufficient staff and address the financial burden of nursing programs on students.

“There’s a lot of barriers for kids that want to go into nursing at the community college level where it’s much cheaper,” Kennedy said. “Make (post-graduate employment) equitable for both programs so that we can get the nurses out of college and working.”

The logic behind electric vehicles benefiting public health has long been solid: More EVs means fewer internal combustion engines on the road and a reduction in harmful tailpipe emissions. But now researchers have confirmed, to the greatest extent yet, that this is indeed what’s actually happening on the ground. What’s more, they found that even relatively small upticks in EV adoption can have a measurably positive impact on a community.

Whereas previous work has largely been based on modeling, a study published in January in the journal Lancet Planetary Health used satellites to measure actual emissions. The study, conducted between 2019 and 2023, focused on California, which has among the highest rates of EV use in the country, and nitrogen dioxide, one of the gases released during combustion, including when fossil fuels are burned. Exposure to the pollutant can contribute to heart and lung issues or even premature death. Across nearly 1,700 ZIP codes, the analysis showed that for every increase of 200 electric vehicles, nitrogen dioxide emissions decreased by 1.1%.

“A pretty small addition of cars at the ZIP code level led to a decline in air pollution,” said Sandrah Eckel, a public health professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “It’s remarkable.”

The group had tried to establish this link using Environmental Protection Agency air monitors before, but because there are only about 100 of them in California, the results weren’t statistically significant. The data also were from 2013 through 2019, when there were fewer electric vehicles on the road. Although the satellite instrument they ultimately used only detected nitrogen dioxide, it did allow researchers to gather data for virtually the entire state, and this time the findings were clear.

“It’s making a real difference in our neighborhoods,” said Eckel, who said a methodology like theirs could be used anywhere in the world. The advent of such powerful satellites allows scientists to look at other sources of emissions, such as factories or homes too. “It’s a revolutionary approach.”

Mary Johnson, who researches environmental health at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was not involved in the study, said she’s not aware of a similar study of this size, or one that uses satellite data so extensively. “Their analysis seems sound,” she said, noting that the authors controlled for variables such as the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts toward working from home.

The results, Johnson added, “totally make sense” and align with other research in this area.

When London implemented congestion pricing in 2003, for example, it reduced traffic and emissions and increased life expectancy. That is the direction this latest research could go too.

“They didn’t take the next step and look at health data,” she said, “which I think would be interesting.”

Daniel Horton, who leads Northwestern University’s climate change research group, also sees value in this latest work.

“The results help to confirm the sort of predictions that numerical air quality modelers have been making for the past decade,” he said, adding that it could also lay the foundation for similar research. “This proof of concept paper is a great start and augurs good things to come.”

Eckel hopes that, eventually, advances in satellite technology will allow for more widespread detection of other types of emissions too, such as fine particulate matter. That could even help account for some of the potential downsides of EVs, which are heavier and could therefore kick up more tire or brake dust than their gasoline counterparts. On the whole, though, she believes the picture overwhelmingly illustrates how driving an electric car is better not just for the planet but for people.

Research like this, she says, underscores the importance of continued EV adoption, the sales of which have slumped recently, and the need to do so equitably. Although lower-income neighborhoods have historically borne the brunt of pollution from highways and traffic, they can’t always afford the relatively high cost of EVs. Eckel hopes that research like this can help guide policymakers.

“There are concerns that some of the communities that really stand to benefit the most from reductions in air pollution are also some of the communities that are really at risk of being left behind in the transition,” she said.

Previous research has shown that EVs could alleviate harms such as asthma in children, and detailed data like this latest study can help highlight both where more work needs to be done and what’s working.

“It’s really exciting that we were able to show that there were these measurable improvements in the air that we’re all breathing,” she said.

Another arguably hopeful finding was that the median increase in electric vehicle usage during the study was 272 per ZIP code.

That, Eckel says, means there is plenty of opportunity to make our air even cleaner.

As water agencies across California grapple with the increasingly extreme effects of climate change, they’re also facing another problem: the incoming “silver tsunami.”

That’s the phrase coined by the industry to illustrate the fact that much of the workforce — largely baby boomers — that keeps our water flowing and safe are getting ready to retire.

Nationwide, about a third of the nation’s water workforce is eligible for retirement within the next decade, “the majority being workers with trade jobs in mission critical positions,” the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in a 2024 report.

Climate resilience needs a workforce

To deal with how pollution in our atmosphere is driving longer, hotter droughts, as well as increasingly intense rain when it does come, water agencies across Southern California are working to boost aging infrastructure and invest in more diverse water supplies, such as recycled water.

The lack of people to staff those changes is a problem for pretty much every water agency, urban and rural.

L.A. is the second-largest city in the nation and is spending billions on water recycling and stormwater capture, for example, but it has been struggling to fill needed positions at its four wastewater treatment plants.

The city of L.A. plans to clean all wastewater that flows to the Hyperion plant.

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Eric Garcetti via Flickr

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The city plans to treat nearly all of the Hyperion wastewater facility’s water to drinkable standards in the coming decades. To support that massive expansion, Hi-Sang Kim, the operations director at Hyperion, told LAist in 2022 the facility will need to boost its workforce by at least 30%.

For less urban water agencies, the challenge is even greater. The Eastern Municipal Water District serves close to 1 million people (and growing), as well as agricultural customers in western Riverside County and northern San Diego County.

They estimate as much as half of their workforce could retire within five years.

“Not only are we investing in new infrastructure, but we have aging infrastructure, so we are in dire need of technical skill sets to operate, maintain everything from treatment plants to pipelines, to pump stations,” said Joe Mouawad, the water district's general manager.

Jobs in the water industry — potable water and wastewater treatment operators, engineers, managers, skilled maintenance, public relations and more — are well paid and secure, Mouawad said, but it’s hard to fill the needed positions.

“We are finding it more challenging to backfill retirees,” he said. “It's not so much a lack of interest — I think it's a lack of awareness.”

Building a pipeline for water jobs

Those job gaps are why Eastern Municipal has become a leader in building the water workforce pipeline. For decades, the water district partnered with local schools to provide education about water conservation and what they do. But over the last decade, as the retirement forecast grew more dire, the agency has shifted to prioritize skills-based programming and partnerships with local high schools.

Local high school students tour Eastern Municipal Water District facilities in Perris.

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Courtesy Eastern Municipal Water District

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In 2013, they launched the Youth Ecology Corps program, for young adults between 18 and 24. Many who went through the program and paid internships are now full-time employees, said Calen Daniels, a spokesperson for the agency, who himself went through the program.

In recent years, the water agency has focused on younger potential future employees through a variety of Career and Technical Education programs at local high schools, including in automotive tech, engineering, agriculture, construction and information systems, said Erin Guerrero, Eastern Municipal’s public affairs manager overseeing its education programs.

“We're starting earlier and getting these kids real world experience,” Guerrero said.

Michelle Serrano teaches a two-year pre-apprenticeship Environmental Water Resources program at West Valley High School in Hemet. Students leave the program equipped to take the state-level certification exam for a job as a water treatment operator or water distribution operator once they turn 18.

Clayton Gordon, GIS mapping administrator at EMWD, talks to West Valley High students in the GIS Engineering certification summer program.

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Courtesy Eastern Municipal Water District

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Already more than 200 students have gone through the program since it launched last year. While local community colleges have similar Career and Technical Education programs, this is the first program of its kind targeting high schoolers in the region. Eastern Municipal hopes to expand to other area schools as well.

“Once the kids get out of the program, they're set if this is the direction they want to go,” Serrano said. “We have these students set for a job or a career for the rest of their life.”

She said the program is a gamechanger for students who don’t see themselves going to college or who are unsure of their future career path.

“We really are pushing hard for college, and that's a good push,” Serrano said. “However, we have kids who don't see themselves going to college.  It's opening up an amazing path for students who otherwise may not see a job direction.”

They’re not only finding a stable career path, she said, but fulfilling roles necessary to our society, Mouawad said.

“It's working for us,” he said, “and we want to see this serve as a model for the rest of the industry.”

It takes an icon to know an icon. If you haven’t seen the new Harry Styles video, check it out and you’ll recognize downtown’s Westin Bonaventure in a starring role. The hotel has been in plenty of movies — including True Lies — and now it’s the stage for Styles’ music video for his new single, “Aperture.” Fiona Ng takes you behind the scenes.

Speaking of cool movie settings, Kristen Stewart bought the abandoned Highland Theatre and plans to restore it to its original grandeur. Good news for film lovers.

On tap in the music space this week, Licorice Pizza recommendations include new wave goddess Dale Bozzio and her Missing Persons at the Whisky, rock goddess Melissa Etheridge at the Canyon Club in Agoura or Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera in conversation onstage at the Roxy — all on Wednesday. Thursday, experimental hip-hop group Clipping is at the Observatory, Atmosphere is at the Novo, UK singer-songwriter Erin LeCount plays the Roxy and Long Beach Dub All Stars & Bedouin Soundclash hit the stage at the Wayfarer. Plus, Aloe Blacc kicks off the first of four nights at the Blue Note.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out about the push to make local beaches into a national park, read up on Sinners producer Sev Ohanian’s rise in Hollywood and find the best spots for a fun Galentine’s Day.

Events

Game Night

Tuesday, February 10, 7:30 p.m.
Cheerio Collective
5917 N. Figueroa Street, Highland Park 
COST: $25; MORE INFO

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Nik

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Channel family game night with new friends over drinks in Highland Park at this classic board game night with Cat Darling Agency and Asian American Collective. Play Connect Four, Jenga and Uno while meeting some folks and enjoying a free drink!

Concert reading of Dogfight

Through Sunday, February 15
The Morgan-Wixson Theatre 
2627 Pico Plvd., Santa Monica 
COST: $23; MORE INFO 

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Joel Castro

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Morgan-Wixson Theatre

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Before there was The Greatest Showman, there was Dogfight. Benji Pasek and Justin Paul’s musical about a group of young Marines in San Francisco on the eve of the war in Vietnam is presented in a concert reading at Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre. Dogfight “explores themes of love, loss, and coming of age.”

OXY LIVE! with Robin Coste Lewis in conversation with Alexandra Grant

Tuesday, February 10, 7 p.m. 
Thorne Hall 
Thorne Road, Occidental College 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Oxy Arts

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National Book Award winner and former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Robin Coste Lewis visits Occidental College for poetry and conversation with Oxy Live's host, celebrated visual artist and cultural collaborator Alexandra Grant (you may recognize her from excellent grantLove series… and her red carpet photos with beau Keanu Reeves). A book signing hosted by beloved Pasadena bookstore Octavia’s Bookshelf will follow, and attendees will have the opportunity to have their books signed by the author.

Dance at the Odyssey

Through Sunday, February 15
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.
COST: $28; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy of Dance at the Odyssey

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Next weekend is the last weekend of Odyssey Theatre’s six-week-long Dance at the Odyssey festival, which features two world premieres: Silent Fiction from Intrepid Dance Project in Odyssey 2, and One World from choreographer Hannah Millar and her Imprints company in Odyssey 3.

Author Lindsay Jill Roth with Dr. Laura Berman

Thursday, February 12, 6 p.m. 
Zibby’s Bookstore
1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Zibby's

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It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and author Lindsay Jill Roth has the questions that will make your new (or long-term!) relationship last. Her new book, Romances & Practicalities, lays out 250 questions you should ask each other to make your love a time- and challenge-tested success — alongside Roth’s own long-distance love story and interviews with couples of all stripes. She’s in conversation with love, sex and relationship therapist Dr. Laura Berman at Zibby’s in Santa Monica.

An evening in conversation with Silversun Pickups’ Brian Aubert & Producer and Musician Butch Vig

Wednesday, February 11, 7 p.m. 
Sid the Cat 
1022 El Centro Street, South Pasadena
COST: $32.75; MORE INFO

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Sid the Cat

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Hometown heroes Silversun Pickups are back with a new album and tour — catch them this week for free at Amoeba’s in-store show on Monday. Then dive deep at this conversation at the new Sid the Cat venue between singer Brian Aubert and producer and musician Butch Vg about the making of their new album, Tenterhooks. Plus, Lyndsey Parker of Licorice Pizza (friend of Best Things to Do) will moderate the chat.

Stronger Together: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Spirit

Monday, February 9, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
St. Monica Catholic Community Grand Pavilion 
725 California Ave., Santa Monica
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy St. John's Foundation

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Recovery is an ongoing process, and the medical and spiritual communities of L.A. are reminding you they're here to help. Providence Saint John’s Health Center and St. Monica Catholic Community are marking the anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires with an evening of community, commemoration and healing.

Victor Villa brought his taco cart to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime performance.

Los Angeles residents likely know the name — Villa's Tacos is an award-winning taco business based in Highland Park. Villa began in his grandmother's front yard and now has brick-and-mortar locations in Highland Park, off Figueroa Avenue, and at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.

The restaurant has won L.A. Taco's Taco Madness championship three times (2021, 2022 and 2024) and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand award for three consecutive years for its signature quesotacos.

A celebration of Latino culture

The entire performance was a celebration of Latin American culture's prominence in the United States, with Bad Bunny taking a moment to recognize Spanish-speaking countries worldwide.

Villa appeared during the opening number, "Tití me preguntó" from Bad Bunny's 2022 album "Un verano sin ti." In the sequence, Bad Bunny visits a piragüero cart — piraguas are iconic Puerto Rican shaved ice treats shaped like pyramids — before the camera pans to Villa and his cart, where Bad Bunny hands him the frozen treat. The moment bridges two beloved Latin American street food traditions: Puerto Rico's piraguas and L.A.'s taco culture.

'An absolute honor'

After the performance aired, Villa took to Instagram to express his thanks and call it a historic moment, He traced his journey from selling his first taco more than eight years ago to the Super Bowl stage.

"I want to give a huge thank you to @badbunnypr for hand selecting me & allowing me to represent my people, my culture, my family & my business," Villa wrote on Instagram.

'A product of immigrants'

As a first-generation Mexican American, he dedicated the moment to the immigrants who made it possible, emphasizing that Villa's Tacos is a product of immigration and that he is honored to represent his culture and all taqueros and Latinos everywhere. The post closed with shoutouts to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and all Latinos.

In August last year, Villa appeared on a Food Friday segment on LAist 89.3's AirTalk, bringing his freshly cooked tacos for host Josie Huang.