About Oscar

Oscar Duran (he/him/his) is a first-generation “non-traditional” transfer student from Fallbrook, CA. He identifies as Chicano/Latino and is the son of Mexican immigrants, as well as the eldest of three brothers.

Oscar began his higher education journey in Palomar Community College in the fall of 2008. Due to institutional challenges and personal circumstances, he left Palomar and later returned to successfully complete an AA in History, and transferred to San Diego State University in the fall of 2015 to continue his undergraduate career.

Most recently, Oscar returned home to San Diego to begin his professional career and was hired as an Academic Advisor at his alma matter, San Diego State University, where he worked with the College of Engineering supporting undergraduate students complete their engineering degrees.

Additionally, he was selected as a 2021-2022 SDICCCA Fellow and completed a counseling internship for the City Scholars program at San Diego City College. The City Scholars program at SDCC is part of the Rising Scholars Network in California serving formerly incarcerated and system impacted students at the community college. This internship led to him landing an adjunct counselor role at San Diego City College and at Cuyamaca College. In the future, Oscar aspires to continue his professional, academic, and personal development by earning a doctoral degree in higher education administration and leadership to become a director or dean of counseling services at the community college level.

Transfer Success

At SDSU, Oscar was involved in various professional development opportunities, leadership programs, student organizations, and research fellowships. Some of these included

A research assistantship for the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL),
Working as a transfer student mentor for the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)
Serving as a peer adviser for the Counseling and Social Change Club (CSCC)
Serving as the Vice-President of the Latin American Studies Student Organization (LASSO)
Participating in NASPA’s Undergraduate Fellowship Program (NUFP)
Being named a California State University Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar and completing a summer research internship in the University of Texas at Austin with Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success).

Oscar also had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain and Cuba. In the spring of 2018, Oscar graduated from SDSU with honors and a BA in Social Science along with a minor in Counseling & Social Change. Thereafter, he pursued graduate studies at CSULB.

Graduate Work

In the summer of 2021, Oscar obtained an MS in Counseling degree with an option in Student Development in Higher Education from California State University, Long Beach. He successfully completed and defended his thesis titled: Los Hombres Si LLoran – An Exploratory Study on Masculinity and Machismo among First Generation Community College Latino Men. His study explored alternative asset-based models of masculinity (such as caballerismo and familismo) that may be applied to help Latino college men successfully navigate their educational journey inside and outside the classroom. His research interests include masculine identity development and mental wellness, men of color at the community college, the first-generation transfer experience, and re-entry/formerly incarcerated and system impacted students in higher education.

Throughout his time in graduate school, Oscar held various professional roles in different colleges and universities such as Project Specialist for the TRIO program at Mt. San Antonio College, Student Success Coach for the Office of Student Equity at Rio Hondo College, Counseling Intern with the First Year Experience program at Pasadena City College, and Interim Coordinator of the Native American Student Center under the Office of Student Life and Cultural Centers at Cal Poly Pomona.