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My girlfriend was talking to me. She was like, are you going to college? And I was like, no.
And she kind of challenged me to put myself through college.
I'm going, that's the thing, and Ventura Promise is definitely helping me out with that.
I was planning on going to college, but I was, I was unsure what I wanted to do
so I didn't feel like going off to a big university.
And you know, that, I thought you know, I might end up at community college and this seemed the perfect opportunity.
This is Nathan.
He's two and a half.
I had him my senior year of high school
so that's when the VC Promise came in.
It helped me like start out. And even when I started VC, I still really didn't know what I
wanted to do
but just when I kept going, it kind of like
helped me figure it out more.
My sophomore year of high school,
I got into some bad things, hanging out with the wrong people,
doing drugs, I shouldn't have been doing. I decided to maybe like
work for myself.
And it's gotten me this far.
This is my second semester.
I'm taking 16 units,
and I'm liking it.
Ventura College is responding to the needs of the community.
With an extraordinary program that is enriching young people's lives and setting a
standard for colleges
all across the country.
The VC Promise has definitely opened doors.
I would call it a stepping-stone, the Promise.
The Ventura Promise
is revolutionizing college education and making dreams come true for thousands
of students and families all over Ventura County. "I am the first out of my immediate family to
graduate high school and go to college."
I just didn't know about college and I was just worrying about graduating high school.
I just became more aware and I said, O.K. I gotta do this,
if I don't then I'll be flipping burgers
or doing some job I don't like.
I'm the first one to go to college - really the first one out of my whole family.
The program is simply brilliant. The Ventura College Promise offers one year
of college free
for hundreds of recent high school grads each year.
That's free college enrollment
for one year.
I was shocked, I was like, what, that's so cool. I mean, that's good for me. There's people out there who can't afford it
This is my personal excuse, I was like, well I can never pay for college, you know, that's just for, you know, rich people.
It basically just made me not
concentrate on how to pay for
college, but just to concentrate on how to finish.
The Promise Program covers the first year enrollment fees for qualified
high school graduates.
Any high school student
graduating from a public, private or even a homeschool
in Ventura County, may apply for the program.
Even students who completed their GED requirements and high school
coursework without passing the exit exam can participate.
All the student needs to do is apply for the Promise grant and if accepted
enroll in Ventura College immediately upon completing high school.
I like that they are very flexible with your classes. The schedule is awesome, you can pick out your classes.
Also, the teachers are really good here. Tutoring is awesome as well.
I've gotten a lot of classes out of the way
these past two semesters and I don't think I would have been able to get as much done
because
I wouldn't be able to afford it.
And so it's very nice, it's very helpful.
The Promise is the brain child and dream of college president
Robin Calote.
and the Ventura College Foundation.
The promise is a spectacular success.
In many cases these were students who had no intention of going to college.
They would go to college based on this and their lives would be changed
in many cases in a positive way forever and then this would start a new history
with the children they eventually have and they would see themselves
as individuals who should be going to college. So i really see it as
changing everyone's lives forever.
And these Promise students are in it for the future,
their own future.
In fact, the Promise students are staying beyond the first year
at nearly double the rate
of non-promise students.
Our research has proven that Promise students not only enroll more classes
but also stay in college continuously leading to successful university
transfers
and budding careers.
My sister did go to college, she went to SBCC
but she didn't finish, she got distracted.
Hearing about the Ventura Promise once more inspired me to go to college. Because I wasn't really
planning on going.
Maybe like later on,
but yea
that inspired me to go right after highschool.
I can get an education here
and still see my friends, you know were not
too distant.
Yea, just everything is just going great right now.
Once i graduated from high school my dad expected me I think to continue
working and leave school.
But by that time I
kind of did want to go to college.
With an education I think it would be better and so, like, he's very supportive and my mom too.
and thanks to the Ventura Promise
I was able to
get my first year free here.
The Promise is more than a jump start for these young people.
The Promise program reaches beyond the college, into the entire Ventura
community
by expanding the college educational experience
to thousands of families throughout the region. Six months before I started
here
my mother started here, and um
it was interesting going to school at the same time as my mother.
I'm a tutor at Ventura High School. A lot of them I think are thinking of coming here.
Thanks in part to the Promise,
Ventura County
is now ranked second in the state
in the percentage of students attending college after high school.
It's really a signature program for the community
and people in other states know about it. People around California know about it.
Other community colleges
are creating their own version of it
and now i think we're on to something very big.
The Promise Program is a vital asset for the entire community
providing valuable incentives
for families and businesses
to live and worked
in Ventura County.
The program is revolutionizing college education
and setting a standard nationwide.
The Promise has already received state and national recognition
for innovation and excellence
in higher education.
The Ventura College Promise program,
making dreams come true for students and families throughout Ventura County.
I'm majoring in theater right now,
hopefully my first choice is Boston Conservatory
to move on to.
but if not I'm thinking maybe UC Irvine.
I love it here.
I mean now I know what I want to do with my life, pretty much you know I want to be
somebody in political science. Be a
politician, lawyer. Something along those lines.
I want to go maybe to Northridge or Fresno State so
two years here and two years away.
My brother he graduated in 2006.
I was proud of him.
And I was like alright,
it's my turn now.
I want to have a career,
change my life.
If I want to be someone in life, I have to study hard.
Try harder.
I'm studying Sociology,
I did my first two years at VC and I'm going to end this semester and then in the fall I'm going to start
Cal State Channel Islands.
Going to UCSB is not so far off you know. They're paying for the first year, you
have to pay for the second year and ya know.
Just see what happens you know, the rest will plan out.