After giving birth to her daughter at a young age, Adriana Calderon shelved her dream to become a nurse.
Before she entered motherhood, for a few months she was enrolled in a computer class and started her GED preparation at Taller San Jose Hope Builders, a social service organization, where she was introduced to Santa Ana College’s Centennial Education Center.
One Saturday morning she decided to bravely walk into the campus, enrolled in some GED courses and began her educational journey.
Unexpectedly, she became unemployed in 2024 after 20 years building a career to become a dental office manager.
As Calderon was left with downtime when her daughter grew up, she knew she wanted to invest in continuing education again.
Fueled with determination to reset her educational path, she empowered herself to move forward.
“With the support of my husband, I returned to Santa Ana College’s School of Continuing Education to start my journey toward a GED, which eventually led me to pursue my high school diploma and an AA degree in medical administration to bridge the gap toward my nursing dream,” Calderon said.
Enrolling in an “Employability Skills” class taught by Veronica Castaneda, assistant professor of Career Education, became a pivotal moment to not just attain her accounting certificate.
“She was the one who saw my ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ and pushed me to go further,” Calderon said. “She recognized my resilience and gave me the confidence to switch from the GED track to a high school diploma and college-level courses.”
“I am proud of her and I know she has what it takes to continue on to bigger and better things,” Professor Castaneda said.
Stephanie Garcia, a former counselor, also helped Calderon’s dream come to fruition.
“She was the first person who truly listened to my goals and believed that I could handle a heavy course load,” Calderon said. “I am reaching my goals faster than I ever thought possible because she provided me with the right academic plan and believed in me.”