Transferring from Foothill College to UCLA in 2016 was a transformative experience. Foothill has, in many ways, reinvigorated my passion for learning and propelled me to my next stage in life.
Foothill has given me the confidence and strength to believe in my abilities to go beyond my wildest dreams.
Similar to my fellow Foothill classmates, I took the “unorthodox” approach to college. Coming from Hong Kong with a great deal of educational hierarchy and standardization, going to community college was initially a dreadful experience.
Seeing all of my peers advancing to university when I had to lower myself to a community college was a terrible comparison and spectacle. I did not want people to know that I attend community college with the slim chance of transferring to a “great” university, if at all.
In fact, I technically didn’t even graduate high school. I was suffering from mild depression due to the lack of family care and tension. Skipping my high school senior year resulted in low attendance rates. With no exam scores, my high school simply couldn’t award me with a diploma.
Hoping for redemption and challenge, I decided to enroll in one of the toughest English professors known at Foothill — Professor Samuel White. I was actually quite nervous going to his class, since I believed my English was below par for American universities and not even up to the standards of a community college.
He genuinely tried to understand my situation of transitioning to the United States, the issues with my family and how difficult it was to study under such pressure. He was precise in what he wanted from me in the assignments and exams and convinced me that the educational quality at Foothill is on par with the UC system. Otherwise, Foothill wouldn’t have such a high transfer rates to UCs and privates.
I am truly grateful to have a professor such as Professor White to guide me through my college career. This confidence boost and genuine care are rare in a large public university. The experience is precious and dear to me at Foothill.
I think what differentiates Foothill professors from the rest is their genuine care for their students.
My experiences at Foothill have been life-changing. I have experienced working for the student body at ASFC, going to Lucknow, India with Fund the Future, working as a Pass the Torch tutor, interning at Dress for Success San Jose, learning how to drive and getting my drivers’ license, fighting for my rights with my homestay hosts, living in an apartment with friends, building and reconciling relationships with friends and classmates, fighting bed bugs (I know!), getting my AA-T and graduating from Foothill under the Honors program. All of these experiences have never made me felt so alive.
I transformed from the “city boy” that I was in Hong Kong, remorsing over the care and love I didn’t get from my family to the mature and grown person with more love to share with others.
Now all of my worries have changed: I’m proud that I went to Foothill; I’m proud that I’m unorthodox; I’m proud that I don’t need others’ approval and validation for my self-worth.
Looking forward, I would like to first graduate from UCLA (I’m technically an A.A.-T degree holder without a G.E.D.).
I’m looking into writing code (Thanks Udacity!) and building my own startup! My mission is to help everyone learn what they want, get the necessary skills for their growth and ultimately make the world a better place.
