The seed of social change was planted in the soul of Nora Adriana Preciado during her days at SAC. Motivated by her family’s struggles going through the U.S. immigration system and her parents’ hope to give their children a better life, Nora pursued academics with passion and purpose. At SAC, she excelled in her classes and was involved in the honor society, Alpha Gamma Sigma. Nora was determined to realize her dream to become an immigrant rights’ attorney, even sharing her story in a book written by a SAC professor, We ARE Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream.

A SAC Honors Transfer Program aide, multiple scholarship winner, and strong advocate of the community college system, after SAC, Nora transferred to the University of California Davis, where she studied political science and English literature. Later, during an internship with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, she worked on the historic DREAM ACT. 

Today, Nora is a social justice champion and civil rights litigator for the National Immigration Law Center, challenging laws close to her heart, such as Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070. Her list of accomplishments are long: UC Berkeley Law Review and Board of Law Review recipient, Rockwood Fellow for a New California, American Civil Liberties Union Equal Justice Works Fellow, tireless community advocate. 

“I have always been aware of how important the community college system was for me in achieving academic success and continuing my education,” says Nora. “SAC offered an excellent, affordable education in a supportive environment which set me on the path to success.”

Santa Ana College, Class of 1997