Star Rivera-Lacey’s parents cultivated a love of learning in her and her siblings, encouraging them to prioritize education if they wanted a better life. As a result, she started out at a community college, and the programs she was able to access there have led to her current success as vice president of student services for San Diego Continuing Education in the San Diego Community College District.
“My academic success is largely (related) to the outstanding student services and amazing support I received myself, as a student in community college. I had the good fortune of encountering, and benefiting from, special programs designed to assist low-income, first-generation students,” she says. “And those programs and people assisted me with services, such as … counseling, tutoring, book grants and free tuition.”
