SUMMER 2022
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH FELLOWS

ALEX VILLANUEVA

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE
Alex Villanueva (he/him/el) is a first-generation college student at San Diego Mesa College where he is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Gerontology. He was born and raised in San Diego and is a very proud community member of Logan Heights. He is the eldest of four children raised by two immigrant parents from the states of Guerrero and Morelos, Mexico. 

Alex has recently graduated from Mesa College and plans to transfer to San Diego State University for the Spring semester of 2023. He is pursuing a BA in Psychology in order to become an applied behavior analyst. Outside of his studies, he has been a volunteer at the Headstart Program in Barrio Logan and enjoys partaking in casual film photography, acrylic paint, working out, and poetry. As a Latinx member, he hopes to continue to serve and give back to the community that molded the person he is today.


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Arlette Cervantes is a Chicana/Latina student who is from Logan Heights, a neighborhood in San Diego, California that is predominantly Hispanic. Seeing the effects of low income upon generations of the family has offered her a unique perspective on the circumstances that economically disadvantaged students take on. It is this reason why Arlette Cervantes has spoken at the Latinx Student Voice Panel at her high school to reveal these stressors students face that take away from their motivation to complete high school.

​She is currently finishing her high school diploma at San Diego Mesa College, where she has been dual-enrolled for two years. She intends to register at the four-year, UC Santa Barbara with hopes to double major in Biopsychology (pre-med) and Chicano Studies. Her personal goal is to be financially comfortable enough to begin donating to after school programs in Logan heights.

ARLETTE CERVANTES

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE

CORINNE REGAN

SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE
Corinne Regan (she/her/hers) is a psychology major at San Diego City College and member of their Psi Beta chapter. As a first-generation college student, her dream is to become an experimental psychologist and social psychology researcher. To find her way, she has been seeking out fem-/mentorship to gain undergraduate research experience and learn how to successfully transition from community college to graduate school.

She is passionate about using research for social change, using persuasion for good, and appealing to hearts and minds through data, dialogue, and storytelling to create a kinder and more equitable world. In her spare time, Corinne enjoys walking and wandering, arts and crafts, cooking for herself and loved ones, strength training for stress management and empowerment, and enjoying all styles of dance music.
Elizabeth Aguilar Ceja is the daughter of immigrant parents and the first to graduate from high school. She graduated from Crawford High school with honors and was part of the Law Academy and Wahupa ETS. At one point, she felt lost during her journey and was afraid that she would give up on her dream to attend college. With the guidance that was given to her, she decided to continue her education at San Diego City College where she is part of the Promise Program and the Puente Project. Elizabeth plans on pursuing her career in Social Work, more specifically, to become a Child, Family, and School Social Worker to change the flawed system from inside. In order to reach her goal, she needs to gain the knowledge and skills to provide the proper resources for future clients. She joins the Semillas Program to gain mentors and the skill of research to continue her journey as a first-generation student.

ELIZABETH AGUILAR CEJA

SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE

FATIMA JASER

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE
Fatima Jaser (She/Her) is a San Diego Mesa College student pursuing a certificate in video game design and development with intentions to transfer to a university to complete a degree in video game design. Her hometown in Syria was not in the best of conditions, and she was well aware of how Syria began to be destroyed. Because of the ongoing war, she and her family made the decision to leave Syria. Fatima chose to become a game designer because video games have always been her passion. Remembering when there's no electricity and having to wait for days just to play on the computer for an hour felt like such a treat. She believes that pursuing such a career will allow her to realize her dream of making games could become real one day. She hopes to specialize in 3D modeling and greenery after becoming a qualified game developer.
Jahaziel Sanchez (he/him/his) will study the financial sphere of the criminal justice system. Furthermore, he is examining the experience of Justice Impacted individuals, (formerly known as Inmates/Parolees), which have or are currently living the challenges of being excommunicated from society. 
Mr. Sanchez will attend SDSU and earn his bachelor’s in science accounting. There is a nationwide movement advocating for progressive legislative change in the criminal justice system. Mr. Sanchez’s efforts to advance the goals of this movement will be to focus on the financial aspects of this deeply rooted, interconnected issue. 
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​Jahaziel has ten associate degrees: Business, Psychology, Sociology, Science and Math, and others. He truly enjoys learning new things. He plays three instruments, he is fluent in Spanish and English, and has his sights on French, Italian, and Russian. Mr. Sanchez is passionate about business and plans to solve social problems through entrepreneurship.

JAHAZIEL SANCHEZ

GROSSMONT COLLEGE
Karolina Guerra Tena is a first-generation college student and is the middle child in her family of 6. She was born and raised in San Diego, California and is currently attending San Diego City College. Going to college wasn't in her academic plans, however, her classes at SD City began changing her perspectives about social justice and systems of oppression. Living in a low-income community, Karolina wants to help change her community by elevating their voices.

​As a Chicana woman, Karolina understands the difficulty of reaching out for help within education, politics/government, the medical field, etc. She is majoring in liberal studies (multiple subjects) and intends to transfer. Karolina believes that education is important for future generations.

KAROLINA GUERRA TENA

SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE
Kimberly (Kim) Barrueta (She/Her/Ella)  is a student at MiraCosta College. She is a first-generation college student transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles for the fall 2022 quarter. At MiraCosta she is involved with the Latina Leadership Network, is a Peer Mentor, and a Mental Health Peer Educator. She enjoys running, organizing and spending time with her dog during her free time.

KIM BARRUETA

MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

MARYAM FAZEL

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE
Maryam Fazel is a young Afghan-American who was born during the civil war in Afghanistan and grew up in an educated family. This combination made her more motivated to study and help the war victims. She is currently a pre-medical student in San Diego Mesa College and wants to help war-torn patients around the world in the future after completing her medical studies. She is a senator at Mesa College and want to solve students problems in this way. 

​She is a California Community College student ambassador and also works with immigrants who have fled the war and recently arrived in the United States. She is currently the Executive Director of the Omou Nonprofit Organization, which helps victims of war around the world. She wants to work to end the war from generation to generation, and she believes that this is possible by raising the standard of living and knowledge of the people. She owes this sense of responsibility to her parents, who were doctors in Afghanistan and helped patients in difficult war situations and were always ready to accept them.She believes that this sense of responsibility has been transferred to her and she is ready to work hard to fulfill this sacred duty.
Nephtali Garcia is a first-generation student. Born in Tijuana, Mexico but raised in National City, she is the youngest of three. Her parents instilled one of the biggest lessons, which was always to help those in need. 

Nephtali is in her last semester at Southwestern College. She plans to attend SDSU in Fall 2022 to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She hopes to help communities in need and make a difference in her community. Nephtali plans to work in a non-profit organization helping people with diverse backgrounds, such as inmates, victims of domestic violence, single mothers, etc. As well as raise awareness of resources available. In her free time, she enjoys working out and baking pastries. When she can, she also volunteers at the San Diego Blood Bank. 

NEPHTALI GARCIA

SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

SHEFFAH CHEVIS

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE/ MIRAMAR COLLEGE / SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE
Sheffah Chevis is a poised 23-year-old African American woman. Her goals and ambitions derive from her unique perspective, shaped by life experiences. Sheffah’s journey has been extraordinarily tougher than the average 23-year-old. Resilience was the product of being put in many challenging; uncomfortable situations which required courageous adjustment.

​Sheffah is a psychology major with plans to transfer to SDSU as a Project Rebound student this upcoming fall. She is working tenaciously toward obtaining her Industrial-Organizational psychology degree. She faced the most testing roadblocks during her life stage of emerging adulthood. Today, she can declare her strength and exceptional ability to grow and learn. Her most prominent ambition is to build toward her abundant future. 
Truc Nguyen (she/her) was born and raised in the city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. She moved to the United States with her family at the age of 13 where she left her childhood behind and learned to be proficient in both English and Vietnamese as the family translator. With the great responsibility she has to carry at a young age, she became an independent and reliable
individual. In her free time, Truc enjoys watching true crime documentaries which is fueled by her curiosity for human psychology.

Truc is majoring in psychology at San Diego Mesa College and plans to transfer to the University of California, Irvine in 2023. She found her passion for psychology through serving the community and the FBI Teen Academy where she furthered her leadership skills and learned about the horror of human trafficking.

TRUC NGUYEN

SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE