阿尔贝托Aramburo ’16

Stuck in the grind of working two jobs, 阿尔贝托Aramburo decided he had had enough. After dropping out of high school, he obtained his GED but felt he could do better 再进一步. He started looking at going to college but was overwhelmed. “我有 no idea how to start the process of going back to school until a friend of mine recommended that I look into the 营 Program,” said Aramburo. “一个 day, I got out of work early from one of my jobs and was able to meet [营 Program Assistant] Maria Alvizar-Laureano. She walked me through everything I needed to do.” 

The College Assistance Migrant Program (营) is a program that helps students from migrant and seasonal farmworking backgrounds during their first year of college. 与 Alvizar-Laureano’s help, Aramburo enrolled in the 营 program and started taking WVC的课程. 

During his studies, Aramburo took an interest in student life on campus. 他成为了 involved with the Associated 学生 of 皇冠8868会员登录 Valley College (ASWVC), was nominated twice as 总统, and spent time as a student ambassador. He fondly recalls his time at WVC and the opportunities it provided, saying, “I got to work with three Senate groups, each of them was a great experience. We were always able to create a community with the common goal and understanding that we were there to create a better experience for the students at WVC.” Aramburo worked hard to help unite students through different events to keep anyone from feeling left out. He felt good knowing that “we were helping others and leaving the school in a better place than how we found it.“在WVC的时候， Aramburo’s hard work and dedication led to his being awarded the 总统’s Medal and the Outstanding Graduate Award. 

After graduating with his Associate of Arts and Science in 2016, Aramburo worked as a patient coordinator for an optometrist in California before returning to Washington 状态. He is currently employed at Confluence Health as the ECG and New Patient Referral Coordinator, striving to make the healthcare journey more accessible for patients. He says, “I’ve learned a lot working in this field in the last four years, and I really enjoy this line of work because I am able to help individuals on a daily basis with navigating the healthcare system to meet their needs.” 

Aramburo appreciates the practical experiences he gained at WVC, such as chairing 的服务 & Activities Committee and working in Washington, DC, for a summer. 这些 encounters provided him with knowledge beyond his classroom learning experience while working with others. He said, “I gained so many life skills that I would have never experienced from working alone.” 

Aramburo advises new WVC students to seize every opportunity that comes along. “一个 door almost always leads to another,” he said, “and you might just run into an opportunity that you have never dreamed of.”