My Story: how colleges & universities change lives
		Things about college I thought I "knew" but didn't really know
		Working in the California community college system
		Education from community colleges and universities
		AcademicPROFIT: why I do what I do?

My Story: how colleges & universities change lives

first generation student

My strong work ethic, however, did not apply to high school coursework.  Consequently, I graduated from Valley High School (a continuation high school) with a cumulative GPA of 1.97 – a D+.  After graduation I worked in construction.  I began as a laborer for concrete finishers and completed my decade-long experience as an electrician – still feeling like a laborer.  I often finished a workday battered, bruised and sore.  Although the pay was good and it was fulfilling to leave a worksite having built something, I felt as though I could do better.  I wanted a complete change.

I enrolled in Long Beach City College unpolished and bad mannered; for the previous twelve years I acted like a stereotypical construction worker, had “brushes” with the law, and had developed other bad habits.  When I enrolled, I didn’t know how to add X+X, had no understanding of higher education and had a D+ on my high school transcript.  However, the California community college system accepted me without question.

Scared out-of-my-mind at first, I began to have a lot of fun.  Many influential college experiences – via students, professors, administrators, and on-campus employment – the institution – completely changed my perception of colleges & universities.  Below I describe how the transition started – from realizing that the things I thought I "knew" about college where not true.  The culmination of these influences lead to AcademicPROFIT. 

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Things about college I thought I "knew" but didn't really know

	I "knew" that I couldn’t afford an education; that tuition at colleges &
	universities was very expensive – too expensive for me.
	+	Reality: I made more money than the cost of tuition & books EVERY
		to make a PROFIT each semester– through my Bachelor’s degree!!!
	+	Reality: other students had the same success using the same strategies
		that I used – and they were very different than me (e.g., in ethnicity,
		age, gender, and more; differences in personal characteristics are
		discussed on the next page).
	I "knew" that students in colleges & universities "had" to have done well in
	high school; as a D+ high school graduate I was way too dumb to be
	accepted beyond a community college.
	+	Reality: I received a full ride to the University of Southern California
		(USC).
	+	Reality: not only did my past not matter, it actually exposed me to more
		student success opportunities.  It helped me earn more free money!
	I "knew" that ‘only smart people’ could succeed in colleges and universities;
	an abrasive construction-worker with a legal history had NO chance.
	+	Reality: I earned straight A’s and was accepted to each university that
		I applied to.
	+	Reality: I couldn’t have had a better relationship with students, staff,
		professors, and administrators who had stood behind my effort to
		change & grow.
	I "knew" that being employed and taking courses full-time was going to be
	an impassable hurdle.
	+	Reality: the free financial aid and part-time on-campus job paid my rent
		and other expenses.
	+	Reality: the California community college system has MANY clubs,
		departments, foundations, institutions, offices, programs, & services
		designed to help students succeed.  And there are many off-campus
		student success opportunities too.  But MOST students don’t know about
		them. In fact, I knew of campus departments and programs that struggled
		to get students enrolled into their services.

The things I thought I "knew" created my pre-college-condition: poor, dumb, hungry, and misinformed.  But because I wanted a change, I dug, probed, investigated, read & re-read, searched & researched anything and everything that pertained to paying for college, getting good grades, and finding student success opportunities on campus & off campus.  I read virtually every source of information published by Long Beach City College (LBCC) and other education-related institutions. If the California community college system or some other entity offered assistance, I wanted it. 

I quickly learned that what was true was the exact opposite of what I "knew;" I learned of the MANY student success opportunities that are designed to help students succeed.  These governmental and private opportunities — offered only to students — directly and indirectly led to PROFITing while earning a degree.

I spoke with many professors, administrators and other campus employees, and quickly developed friendships. These personal relationships led to my college employment and successful integration as a student.

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Working in the California community college system

new career serving college students / financial aid services

My new career began in 1997 after a counselor offered me a peer advising position. I worked in the office of, Extended Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS) at Long Beach City College (LBCC). I think she noticed that I’d completed my own educational plan (outlining what courses to take and when) and had read virtually every campus publication.  And within a year, I became the assistant to the Director of EOPS, Dr. Rick Perez.  (LBCC’s EOPS office served over 2,000 students – about 10 percent of LBCC’s total college population & it was the third largest EOPS population in the California community college system.  EOPS served (serves) ‘socio-economically disadvantaged’ students – I qualified three times over.)

As an EOPS peer advisor I worked closely with students: outlining their educational plans; selecting professors; informing them of other clubs, departments, programs, services, and other organizations that would help them; showing them which scholarship, grant or other free financial aid awards they could earn and when and how to fill-out the application; what to do if a student didn’t initially fit a service’s criteria (trouble-shooting :-); and more. I made sure students applied for student success opportunities by personally walking them to a department, program, service, etc.

I was exposed to all the administrative offices when I worked for the Director of EOPS. About 30 percent of the time I worked with financial aid officers, records & admissions personnel, department / program directors, campus researcher, academic counselors, professors, etc.  I engaged issues with other campus decision-makers (e.g., getting book grants in-place at the bank & bookstore), obtained students records (e.g., helping with a student’s application [applying to any office]), worked to get new computers for EOPS students, and worked with professors when a student needed assistance.  It was an incredible learning experience and it was impressed to see the dedication of so many professionals.

I had the privilege & good fortune to wear many hats; I was a peer advisor, department liaison, grant researcher / writer, researched student success issues, front-office person, and completed ad hoc projects including organizing all LBCC transfer articulation agreements. Along the way I began to developed my own handouts – on how to PROFIT & succeed at LBCC.  I didn’t know it at the time but that was the start of AcademicPROFIT.

LBCC President's Ambassador

I also worked for LBCC’s President, Jan Kehoe as an LBCC President’s Ambassador.  LBCC Ambassadors served & represented the President at a variety of on/off campus events; we served college students, high school students, parents, administrators, faculty, and visitors to the college. I had the fortune of speaking at the Long Beach World Trade Center, Rotary Club, and continuation high schools.  And, I gained more insight to more student success opportunities.

Fullerton College, California community college

The EOPS Director, Dr. Perez became the Dean of Counseling and Student Development at Fullerton College (California community college). Rick was my mentor in a million ways, so I joined him at Fullerton. My new role included working with students but primarily, I researched the student success indicators of approximately 11 programs, wrote the Counseling Division's annual report, researched educational law (Title V), built and analyzed survey instruments, monitored student services, and conducted other research-related activities.

This rounded-out my college employment experience.  While at LBCC, I worked mainly with students or, on student-specific issues.  That was the ‘front-end.’  However, at Fullerton College I worked on the ‘back-end’ – the business of education and college administration. I saw the business of getting students from whatever academic & physical condition they were in, to where they want to be.  This was policy & budget.  Again, I can sincerely say that administrators, staff & faculty truly struggle over how to maximize student success.

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Education from community colleges and universities

free college

I enrolled in Long Beach City College (LBCC) with only one goal:  Go to college for just one semester and try it, while surviving any humiliation that was sure to come.  But I did well that first semester and had fun!  I thought, maybe it was a fluke; perhaps, I had easy teachers, got lucky or something.  Free college, merit scholarship, presidential scholarship, oodles of grant money, and other free financial aid in excess of tuition were UNimaginable.

I again did well the next semester so, I dared to think that an . . . associate’s degree was attainable.  By the end of the following semester I gained enough confidence through in-class success, and collected such an understanding of the California community college system, that I imagined the impossible: a bachelor’s degree was obtainable.

free university

Although I was stringing together straight A's and winning accolades, I focused only on matriculating to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). CSULB was near my apartment & was a great school & it awarded bachelor degrees & was close to the beach and, that's all I needed. But one day, the EOPS counselor who hired me asked, "Did you ever think of transferring to USC?" That sentence changed my life. Not only did I change my target-school - to matriculate and successfully transfer to USC - but in the end, USC was the only university to give me a full ride!! AND it taught me one of my most profound life-lessons that I keep and share to this day: I was my own hurdle. I'm born & raised in SoCal, grew up with USC as a household name, and became academically capable of attending the university but, I never even thought of transferring to USC.

I lacked the vision, despite how hard I was working. I lacked the creativity, despite having transitioned so far academically & career-wise. I was entirely unaware of the possibilities. This was another profound experience that led to AcademicPROFIT.

more colleges & universities

I attended Fullerton College were I completed a Certificate in E-Commerce and have one more semester to complete at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM).  My UM graduate studies concentrated on higher education & public policy.  I wrote two unpublished manuscripts, (1) Immigration, Social Cohesion and Three Community College Systems and, (2) Community Colleges’ in Rhetoric and Rates of Change: Will the Real “R” Please Stand Up.  These papers, affectionately referred to as a dissertation by Professor Maris Vinovskis, illuminate the political, economic and other social factors addressed by the Nation’s community college systems. The papers translate my strong conviction that everyone MUST obtain bachelor degrees & the Nation's community colleges are the ideal vehicle.

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AcademicPROFIT: why I do what I do?

Enrolling in the California community college and university systems changed my life – interpersonally, professionally, financially, intellectually, and more.  It was all for the better and, I saw these systems change the lives of many others.  AcademicPROFIT was born out of these experiences and I’m driven to share the experiences & opportunities. Why I do what I do developed in three stages.

too many students & parents are clueless about higher education – for no good reason

Getting bachelor degrees from universities, via the California community college system, is easy, doable, smart, and PROFITable. I succeeded despite having no experience with academic success, no family discussion about higher education or family member in higher education, and hampered by all the wrong ideas about college (the things I “knew”).  As a student I discovered the many many on/off campus opportunities that are designed to serve students; I saw that free financial aid abounds and that some opportunities lead to free financial indirectly.  Campus employment complemented my student-experience by exposing me to hundreds of college and high school students, their parents, college administrators, staff, & professors.

Sadly, I also saw that most students, prospective students and their parents knew very little about these college opportunities.  I saw student-frustration (selecting a major, enrollment, balancing work & school, financial and parental pressures, etc.), parental concerns (the cost, usually) and the administrator’s struggle (budgetary constraints & the uniformed student were at the top).
There were no good reasons for the frustration and I would combat it by creating handouts & documents on 'how to PROFIT & succeed at LBCC.' This created AcademicPROFIT's foundation.

20/20 vision but blind to the opportunities in colleges and universities

Dream your biggest dream and pursue it – because you’ll exceed all expectations.  I had great grades, developed a 'winning package,' experienced numerous successes & accolades but focused on, and only on, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).  I was an academic gold mine and lived in Southern California all my life yet NEVER IMAGINED that I could transfer to the University of Southern California (USC).  I never – once – made the connection.  Never mind, Harvard, Stanford or other prestigious universities.  Those schools mattered: I wanted a career in higher education or high-end research; I had lost a decade working construction; and had dedicated myself to succeed academically.  Why not shoot for the best! Make no mistake that attending & graduating from CSULB or Dominguez Hills or…UCLA, etc., is just as important and successful (you must earn a bachelor’s degree).

Ultimately, the argument here is that individuals can be ‘blind’ to the opportunities right in front of them.  When the EOPS counselor asked me, “Did you ever think of transferring to USC?,” I realized how blind I was to yet more opportunities that colleges and universities provided.  The counselor’s question changed my life and I believe that many other students can have the same experience!  My expectation is that AcademicPROFIT will have you aiming at your biggest dream and give you the tools to pursue it.

colleges and universities are the key to everyone's success - no matter your gender, ethnicity, etc.

Black, brown, white, green, female, male, tall, short, freckled, fair, fat, skinny, with a nose or no nose – everyone PROFITs.  Within two years I had stacks of success.  Few students went from D+ high school grad to getting a free ride from USC.  I had food in the fridge; I was no longer living on a dollar per day.  And I began to feel selfish.

I spoke with many students who had amazing stories and had no idea of the student success opportunities, and strategies & tactics that I had relied on.  I began to share my success with others full-time; I began show others how they too can make a profit because they’re enrolled in college.  I’d ask “do you know that if your part of program ‘x’ you get this [great] opportunity from ‘z’” or, have you ever filled out form ‘q’ or ‘r’ or ‘z’?  Invariably, I’d either get a blank look or students would say, “Oh yeah, I heard of that . . . but I never filled it out.”  I’d freak and began creating handouts for all scenarios.

Students picked up the ideas and … began to win too!  Even if a student obtained a free service (& no money), but that service launched them ahead in some other way, that was a success.  Putting a winning package together is done ONE successfully step at a time!  When others won – students of different age, ethnicity, gender, income level, major, college/high school GPA, history of community service work, high school accomplishments, work experience, personal history, parental status (children/no children), and citizenship – I knew that I was onto to the successful recipe. 

One skeptic, who had been paying for college (but now was making a PROFIT), helped her sister to win a scholarship too! 

I saw that anyone could improve themselves by leveraging the California community college system AND, they could do it at a PROFIT.  If I . . . if we can earn a degree, then you can.  And, if we made a PROFIT by earning a degree, then perhaps everyone should!  That is AcademicPROFIT.

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Working in construction beyond my twenties was NOT what I wanted.  My pre-college record, academically & otherwise, was abysmal and I knew nothing about higher education.  Yet I dived into the California community college system and earned a Bachelor’s degree from a prestigious university making a PROFIT ever semester.  Along the way I studied tens-of-thousands of students, served hundreds students one-one-one, and worked with college administrators, staff, faculty, parents, visitors, and high school students about every topic/service/issue that a college student confronts.  And I studied the community college system at the National macro social level.   I fully integrated into the academic environment in every way and it paid big but too many students simply . . . don’t.

The desire to help students led to developing strategies, tactics and a knowledgebase that I used to become a successful student and to help other students to PROFIT.  And, AcademicPROFIT strategies work whether black, brown, white, green, female, male, tall, short, freckled, fair, fat, skinny, etc – irrespective of personal characteristics.

I’ve seen what a handful of reputable authors have written about succeeding in college and I know that AcademicPROFIT is the best product for the California community college student (and California high school student).  I’ve also seen the number of c.o.m.p.l.e.t.e.l.y. horrid Websites doing absolutely nothing for students but gathering click-troughs (to get ad $) at the expense of the student’s time.  There are only 3 or 4 reputable privately owned students support Websites – and that’s it!

The next page, show YOU the PROFIT provides proof that students have PROFITed; why earn a degree illustrates the clear evidence that bachelor degrees are of huge importance; how are we different explains how AcadeamicPROFIT provides you with much more “bang for your buck” than the competition – my personal experiences are unmatched.  The AP product is a book outing every AcademicPROFIT strategy for virtually every scenario.  It will not waste your time; my book is concise and will serve your needs.  I disclose ALL the secrets I used to propel myself & others to the university at a PROFIT every semester and, I disclose how you will win up to 70 to 90 percent of all scholarships you apply for.  I & other students went from not knowing that college is easy, fun & free to MAKING IT easy, fun & free!

Fight On!

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