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Spotlights
Rebecca Sapien-Buen
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Enjoy the
detailed story behind our homepage spotlight!
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Current student, Rebecca Sapien Buenrostro had no idea
what college was all about until she attended the former Santa
Ana College (SAC) 5th Grade Tour Program during the 1993-94
school year. Various 5th grade classes from the Santa Ana
Unified School District participated in the tours and learned
what a college education could do for them, their families and
their futures.
Many of the children, like Rebecca, arrived at SAC not knowing
what the day would hold for them. They only knew they were going
on a field trip – a field trip that could potentially change
their lives, someday.
Throughout the tour, the children were shown the entire campus:
where to go for information, classrooms, the cafeteria, the
Tessmann Planetarium, etc. The students at SAC talked to the
children and told them that they could be anything they wanted
to be and that there were many people willing to help them
succeed. From then on, Rebecca knew that she would become a
college student and nothing would stand in the way of that goal.
“I won’t let any statistic tell me that I won’t fulfill my
goals,” stated Rebecca. “I am a single mother and it kills me
inside when I see young parents stop their education just
because they have kids – my daughter is my inspiration.”
Rebecca, who wants someday to become a middle school math
teacher, enrolled at SAC with great pride because she grew up in
Santa Ana.
“Throughout the years that I attended Santa Ana schools, they
never stopped encouraging college,” said Rebecca. “I’m proud to
be at SAC because it is in my community. Plus, SAC has a great
teacher education center.”
“I want to show my daughter, like SAC showed me, that she can be
anything she wants to be,” expressed Rebecca.
Once she receives her associate’s degree from SAC, Rebecca hopes
to attend California State University, Fullerton. In the
meantime, she will continue to work, go to school, care for her
daughter, and stress the importance of education to others,
especially single parents.
“I remember taking a picture at the end of the tour,” stated
Rebecca. “Later when I received it, it said ‘I am a future
Rancho Santiago student’ around the frame.”
She is now a student at Santa Ana College, formally known as
Rancho Santiago College. It looks like her first experience with
college turned out to set the path for her future.
A program called KinderCaminata has now taken the place of
the 5th Grade Tours. It has the same concept as the former
tours, however it concentrates on exposing children to college
at a much younger age…kindergarten.
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