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>> [Background Music] ...famous Berkeley restaurant,
Chez Panisse, is getting ready to open for business again.
Yes, I am a reporter and anchor at KCRA 3
and my journey didn't start off at KCRA, but I was actually
in an internship thanks to Sacramento State.
They helped me get into an internship at KCRA
so it was always my dream to work there when I grew up
and when I graduated, but it didn't start right off the bat
so I had to pay my dues in smaller markets.
Yeah, mine didn't go to college.
In fact my parents only got up to like the 6th grade
and they emigrated here from Mexico so for me,
going to college was always a priority of mine.
I was the student that got the straight A's and that was
in the gate program and school is something
that was very important to me.
I would go home and study for like 3 or 4 hours a night
and my friends thought I was weird for doing
that so college was always something
on that was on my mind.
The big issue was, "How are we going to pay for this,"
and that was something that was very scary for my parents
who were immigrant works.
My dad then ended up working at a steel company.
I had my eyes set on a 4 year university
and I thought it was Sacramento State
so the opportunity presented itself to take a tour
of the campus with our high school counselor
and I immediately fell in love with the campus.
I was just like a small town girl from Galt,
California with a big starry eyes coming
onto this ginormous campus as I thought it was.
Greenery everywhere; I just fell in love with it
and we took a tour and I remember coming back
to tell my parents that this is where I was going to go.
I just fell in love with college right away
and it was the experience of coming from a small town
and getting to meet people from all different cultures.
I remember my roommate being African American
and then the girl next door -- which is still my best friend
to date -- was Indian.
There were so many people with so many different cultures
and everyone had something different to bring to the table
but what we all had in common is many of us were first generation
to come to college so like we formed a unique bond and coming
to college wasn't such a scary thing;
it's something that...a journey
that we were going to take together.
I would just say to open your horizons
and to meet every single person and to sit down and try
to have a conversation with everyone you come
across because I think even more
so than just the classroom experience, it's that experience
of meeting people like you and forming that network
with people right from the get go.
I just remember meeting people and having them
in my classes my freshman year.
We stayed in touch through email, we would meet
for study groups, and we would meet for lunch so it was almost
like you always had that support system.
For those 4 years or however long it was going to take you
to get through college, you never felt like you were
in this journey alone.
So my message is don't do it alone, whether it's in college
or in your career; you always have to align yourself
with good people and that's what I do now and I'm no longer
that shy girl from Galt,
although my heart is still in Galt.
I really owe it to Sacramento State
for just helping me blossom as a person
and helping me believe in myself.
Hi, I'm Leticia Ordaz and I was made at Sac State.
[ Music ]