My counselor at my high school helped me register for Community College because I do not get much support from my parents. I was looking for help getting to and from campus, so I found out about the KEYS [Keystone Education Yields Success] program at CCP. They have helped me a lot—increased my motivation. 

I come from Puerto Rico, so the easiest way to transfer my credits and not have a big student loan was to come here to CCP. I was looking around at other colleges and CCP seemed like a really good fit for what I was looking for—and I heard good things. I’m glad I did.

I had always tried to figure out which college to go to. Originally, I was going to go straight to Temple or Drexel, but then I started to hear about community colleges and I realized it was probably a better plan than going directly to a 4-year university.

My major here at the College is Business Administration. All of the ‘fun’ activities I thought were just for ‘fun’ as a kid were actually business-related so I decided that would be the best career to get into.

I came to the College because of the ESL program and the Criminal Justice classes. I’m in the ESL classes right now and taking my English and Math classes—it’s pretty cool. I really like criminology and in general, I like to help people. I want to help people stay out of trouble and off the streets.

After high school, I neglected the fact that ‘college is to further your education’. I just started working, but after a while you notice you’re living check to check, and having a career is a different thing. So, I ended up here at Community College. I’m 26 years old, and I’m happy to be here right now. My major is Engineering. After I get my associate degree here at Community College, I can transfer to Drexel and continue my education there.

After high school—I failed out of college, so I went into the Marine Corps.  I did that for nine years, then got out and worked for the government as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer with the Department of Justice. From there I worked oversees working on various assignments as a contractor with the State Department and private entities. I eventually decided to pursue my dreams goals: going back to college.

I looked at community college to get my bearings—try to get back to college life in the US. My options were CCP or DELCO, but I didn’t have a car and I knew I wanted to go to school in the city and eventually go to Temple.  The College has definitely helped me decide what I want to do and focus on. CCP has allowed me to catch up to my friends who are ahead of me.

My major here at the College is Medical Laboratory Technology and Biology. In the beginning, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in so I took a biology course and that helped me realize I wanted to study medicine.

I’m originally from the country of Nigeria. I didn’t have it in mind to come to CCP at first. My brother in law said I should come here. I have a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Nigeria-Soka, but I got it more than 10 years ago. Out of curiosity, I took the placement test and found myself here. 

I’m originally from Vancouver, BC—Canada. I moved to Philadelphia two years ago to be with my husband because he’s from PA. I used to work in higher ed before I moved here and even though I wanted to be a teacher way back in the day, I ended up in marketing. As soon as I interviewed here, I fell in love with the people. At the College, it feels like everyone is about the people....

 I was keeping my eyes open for LGBTQ-related positions, but I wasn’t actively looking. Then I saw a job posting for the LGBTQ Center at the College and applied right away! The next day I got a phone call for an interview. By the following week, I was officially hired. 

I’ve lived in Philadelphia the past three and a half years—originally from South Jersey. I initially applied to Temple and they denied me and suggested I try Community College of Philadelphia. I am glad that they did! I’ve saved a bunch of money and have been given tremendous opportunities. For instance, I was part of the Bucknell [Scholars] Program this past summer. I never thought I could accomplish something like that.

My brother, Kevin, was a graduate here [Community College of Philadelphia]. He brought me into the CME [Center for Male Engagement] when I was still in high school and had me meet boss man [Director Derrick Perkins]. I was super, super nervous. A year later, I came into CCP through the summer program. I went through the program and met some friends who are still here with me. I like it so much, I’ve helped with the other programs.

“CCP [Community College of Philadelphia] came to my high school. I graduated from Agora Cyber Charter School. I was out of school for a year, and then I came to CCP because it was cheaper and a fast way to get acclimated to the college life. I took two English classes here and then was nominated to go to the honor society here—that’s why I’m in the Liberal Arts - Honors program. I’ll be graduating with honors and I’m part of Phi Theta Kappa [Honor Society].

My journey started here [Community College of Philadelphia] after the conclusion of a tumultuous time in my life. I’m a spiritual person. I said a prayer—I had an epiphany. I remember writing a business plan for a nonprofit for resource assistance and information about nutrition. This opened my eyes to the food plight in the city. There are people in the city that don’t have access to decent food. And I remember thinking, ‘If I’m going to do this, I need to get an education.’

I said, "I’m going to go back to college and get my life back." I enjoyed cooking, and the commercials kept coming on television to go back to school, so that’s what I did. People in my family said, ‘you really can cook, this is really good!’ I like making people happy when I cook—that’s what sparked my interest.

It was actually ten years in between me [thinking of and] actually attending Community College of Philadelphia. I always knew I wanted to go into English, but life has a way of getting to you. I had a daughter—she’s three years old now.

I came to the College [Community College of Philadelphia] after I completed homeschooling. Financially it was a good start for me, it was feasible for me and I needed the resources for something that was going to help get me into a really good college eventually. I saw this as a boosting pad for me.

I imagined it growing up…every time you hear about college, you hear about crazy parties and you see people just hanging off of rafters. And I didn’t want that. I’m more focused on the actual sit down and study time. I know that sounds boring, but I figured I’m here I might as well make the most of it. I got here, and I saw there are a couple of people that are here to just party and everything but usually they filter out after the third week—for better or for worse.

The first two semesters here [Community College of Philadelphia], I took it really slow, which was nice. I took two classes, and then three classes, because I thought if I did not do well in high school, I may not do well in college. I was just making sure I could do this. It’s been really nice though. All of the professors are really concerned about you transferring. That’s their primary concern. They want to make sure you’re getting into the school you need.

In 2016, I moved up here [Philadelphia] and enrolled in CCP [Community College of Philadelphia] to get started. For me, the College has been beneficial in a way of just networking and getting concrete career goals. As far as the affiliation with professors here, I think of the Art Department in particular because I am an Art and Design major.

Me and my two sons, we moved up here. I did a little bit of research online and I found the Community College of Philadelphia. I went with the first thing I saw—I kind of lucked up so to speak. I knew I wanted to do nursing so I did a little bit of research and saw what I needed to do to get into the program. I took a full load of classes the first year. I applied, I got in and I’ll be graduating in four or five weeks with an associate’s degree in Nursing.

I'm from Cambodia. I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. My mom and dad and my five siblings, we came here to America sponsored by a church. We ended up going to a Christian school and building our life in America in Philadelphia. I was actually raised in West Philadelphia. I grew up in a multi-cultural neighborhood so I'm a very diverse-minded kind of person now—it made me who I am. The reason why I'm here at the College is because I'm 33.