Oak Grove High School graduate Maddy Ybarra never wanted to attend college. But that changed this summer as she participated in the intensive six-week METAS Summer Bridge program at San José City College.
She enrolled in the Chicanx Cultural Studies class, one of three offered, which changed her perspective. “I grew more as a person, and I can’t wait to go further into my educational life,” she said. Ybarra credits her instructor, Juan Gamboa, and the tutors and counselors in the Summer Bridge program for motivating her.
It’s precisely the kind of result the METAS program aimed for this summer, and it found success in graduating 80 students from the program. The students will start their first semester at SJCC with friends and campus resources and services they can count on.
“I’m proud of the team, grateful to the interns, and the campus as a whole for supporting Summer Bridge,” said Enrique Velasco, Ed.D., METAS Project Director.
The success of the program and the students was on full display during the Summer Bridge Celebration held in the Robert N. Change Student Center courtyard, where students received their certificates of completion. The campus community attended the celebration with remarks provided by SJCC President Rowena M. Tomaneng and Interim San José Evergreen Community College District Chancellor Beatriz Chaidez.
“I grew more as a person, and I can’t wait to go further into my educational life.”
Maddy Ybarra, Metas summer bridge graduate
Ybarra says Summer Bridge also inspired her mother. The pair will enroll in a class together in the fall. “She also wants to go further in her life,” Ybarra said. She plans to finish her two-year general education requirements at SJCC and transfer to San José State University to study video game design. Not bad for someone who had doubts about college just a few weeks ago.