Julia Barajas
I explore how college students achieve their goals — whether they’re fresh out of high school, or going back for the first time in years — and what support they get along the way.
My exposure to college began when I was a high school senior. In all my years of schooling, I’d never been assigned anything written by a person of Mexican descent, despite growing up in L.A. County. So when a brochure for East Los Angeles College appeared in my family’s mailbox, I tried out dual enrollment, and took an introductory Chicano Literature course. We read everything from Tomás Rivera’s “... And the Earth Did Not Devour Him” to Bernice Zamora’s “Notes from a Chicana ‘COED.’” And what I learned there — about writing, about history, and about myself — stayed with me. It informed my decision to major in literature and Latin American studies when I went on to earn a four-year degree, and it continues to shape the work I do now.
My hope is that all college students will get a similar chance to chart a course for themselves, guided by their own curiosities and ambitions.
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Students will receive the payments for one year. The program aims to bridge the gap between expenses and the region’s cost of living. -
There's no need to register. Students and families can just drop in.
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The L.A. Unified School District is hosting a three-day winter academy next week, open to students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade.
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Families have voiced concerns about how their personal data might be used under a second Trump administration.
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The U.S. Department of Education expects to get 1 million financial aid applications from students across the country by Tuesday.
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Holiday fare like Home Alone and Elf are on the menu for most major U.S. airlines.
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Record layoffs. The threat of AI. A free fall in public trust. All around, journalism is crumbling. And yet, at Santa Ana College, these students and educators are keeping the faith.
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Financial aid experts have workshops for students and families in need of help.
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Brandi O’Kelley, who runs the system’s social media, uses humor to draw more readers.
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Folt was brought on in 2019 to usher in "a new era" following a series of high-profile scandals.
