SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONS
MESA students beat the odds

With their graduations, transfers and job offers come new opportunities for MESAstudents. “It’s important to remember there is a real person behind each number reported as a MESA success,” said MESA Executive Director Michael Aldaco. “We are proud to be part of the academic and professional accomplishments of our students. They demonstrate what is possible when you combine personal effort with a strong preparation program and support network.” Here are just some of the thousands of MESA students from around the state who have earned successful transitions from one life phase to the next.

PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAM

Despite state budget cuts facing many school districts this past year, MESA’s pre-college program’s high school seniors from throughout the state completed the program and graduated at strong rates in 2004–05. Historically, an average of 70 percent of MESA high school graduates have gone directly to college (compared to the statewide average of 49 percent) and 57 percent have gone on to major in math, science or engineering.

Among the many high school graduates served by the CSU Fullerton MESA Center who are attending college this fall are, from Santa Ana High School, Tryton Bower who was accepted to UC Santa Cruz in computer science and engineering, and Moises Peralta who was accepted to UC San Diego in mechanical engineering. From Valencia High School, Shelley Wong was accepted to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Julia Wong (no relation), a MESA student while at Nightingale Junior High School and Lincoln High School (CSU Los Angeles MESA Center), also accepted an offer of admission from Caltech. Jordan Parker, a MESA student while at Taylor Elementary School, Marshall Middle School and Franklin High School (University of the Pacific MESA Center in Stockton), accepted an offer to attend the University of Rochester (New York). Parker, a former Gates Millennium scholar, will study chemical engineering and political science.

From Watsonville High School (UC Santa Cruz MESA Center), Javier Villanueva will be attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall majoring in mechanical engineering. Natalie Diaz will be attending Santa Clara University majoring in civil engineering. Gabriela Rocha will be attending San Francisco State University majoring in biology. Jose Bermudes will be attending CSU Fresno majoring in agricultural engineering or political science. Raymundo Sanchez will be attending UC Berkeley majoring in computer engineering or business administration. Jesus Garcia will be attending UC Santa Cruz majoring in electrical engineering or computer science.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM

MESA two-year college programs continued to perform well this year, with many students completing their studies and transferring to four-year universities. Historically, 100 percent of MESA community college transfers enter universities as majors in math, science or engineering.

John Laporga was selected from among hundreds of applicants to win the prestigious Silicon Valley Engineering Transfer Scholarship, which includes a $22,000 education grant, a summer internship and faculty mentoring. Laporga is transferring from Allan Hancock College to San Jose State University.

MESA transfer students are successful. Former Skyline College student Kimberly Pham Branch just completed her Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, mathematics and statistics from UC Berkeley. The MESA alum, a single mother and former high school dropout, worked for three and a half years to complete the community college courses she needed to transfer to Berkeley.

Marissa Aillaud, a transfer student from the Southwestern College MESA program, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in medical science at UC San Diego and plans to begin medical school in August.

MESA ENGINEERING PROGRAM (MEP)

Despite losing MESA funding as a result of recent state budget cuts, the four-year university engineering program continues to produce impressive results in the academic and professional lives of its students. Historically MESA produces 74 percent of all state bachelor’s degrees awarded to underrepresented students and 12 percent nationwide.

On his matriculation from CSU Sacramento’s MEP, Brandon Jackson received the prestigious college president’s award, given annually to a single graduating student. The young father was also one of four engineers hired by Agilent to participate in the company’s fast-track executive training program.

Jose Ramirez graduated from the CSU Fresno MEP Center with a degree in mechanical engineering and accepted a position with Chevron. The former National Science Foundation (NSF) scholar at MESA’s College of the Sequoias program was featured in a recent Fresno Bee article examining the positive job outlook for recently graduated engineers.

# # #