>> You're good.
>> All right, awesome.
Hi, everybody, my name is Dr. Paul Jimenez
and I just want to welcome you to the hombre
to hombre workshop.
And before we get going, I want to introduce
our workshop presenters and we have another
student coming by as well.
So Dennis, you want it introduce yourself?
>> Of course.
So, good afternoon, everyone, my name is Dennis
and I'm a counselor here for the office of
student life and our peer navigator program.
>> Okay.
And go ahead, Anthony.
>> So my name's Anthony, I'm a history major
here at SMC and also head of the newsletter
for the Adelante program.
>> And I'm Dr. Paul Jimenez, I'm a counselor
for the Adelante program and Black Collegians,
I've also taught here for about 10 years and
yeah.
So, I'm one of the leads for the hombre to
hombre program, and basically we just wanted
to hold this workshop to want to tell you
a little bit about the, what we do for hombre
to hombre and also to provide you guys to
answer any questions you may have about hombre
to hombre or just in general.
So first of all, in regards to hombre to hombre,
it's basically a workshop that we have every
two, every month, the next workshop is going
to be on September 10th and Jorge, if you
can mute yourself, please?
Thank you.
And basically, the workshop themselves, we
cover different topics based off of your feedback
on, you know, based on some topics that you
would like to discuss.
But we also based off topics that happen in
the past that students told us were really
helpful, we cover those as well.
So for example, we talk about one of the big
issues that our students run in to is financial
aid.
We talk about financial aid, not only from
financial aid in college, but also at SMC,
but also financial aid after you transfer,
and in addition just by [ Indiscernible ] your
personal life.
So a couple students told us they had issues
with credit cards.
So we talked about credit cards.
Like, if you don't know what your credit score
is, if you've never checked your credit report,
if you don't know which credit cards maybe
you should get in to and which to stay away
from, we'll cover those type of topics.
You might wonder, what does my credit card
have to do with my success at SMC?
It has a huge, you know, impact in terms of
credit cards and financial aid because if
you're stressing out about, I got to pay this
credit card, I'm in all this debt, you're
not going to be focusing so much on I'm gonna
do well on the math class or English class.
So hombre to hombre, it's about topic that's
are important to you and we also want to provide
a community of support.
So Anthony, Jorge, Dennis and myself, we're
part of your community but the idea is you
won't be alone on campus, you'll have a nice
network of people.
So Dennis, if you want to talk a little bit
about hombre to hombre?
>> Yeah, also, the cool thing is that it's
open to everyone who wants to join us.
Normally when we're on campus, we provide
pizza, I think it's nice for us to eat and
talk in community with one another.
And truly to share our experiences, I think
it's very important.
Because we know that a lot of you may be entering
SMC and not knowing where things are and this
is kind of a very welcoming space where we
discuss a lot of the resources that are available
that not many students may know of.
For example, some of the biggest things like
Dr. Jimenez and myself are counselors here.
We know the different resources on campus,
we talk about things like financial aid, career
planning, et cetera, and also connect you
with other folks that have experience, since
we have over 20 different programs on campus
that can assist you as well.
So making those connections for us is so important
and this is the time and space to help you
with those.
>> Yeah, so what we're gonna do right now,
we just want to bring up some of the specific
topics that I covered, just like I brought
up financial aid, just to give you an example
of the things that could come up in the future
if you end up joining us for hombre to hombre
for the next semester.
We meet once a month from 11:15 to 12:30 at
the end of this talk, we'll give you the specific
date and all that good stuff.
So one thing that keeps coming up when it
comes to men of color is the idea that fortunately
we don't ask for help a lot.
So we talk about the importance of asking
for help.
And you might be, like, what are you talking
about specifically?
So, it looks, it looks, you can see it in
different ways.
One, asking for help could be something as
simple as let's say Anthony is having issues
with his professors kind of being a jerk to
him.
He can talk to me, and say hey, Dr. Jimenez,
this is what's going on in my class.
And then I would then give him some guidesance
on what are some things he can do to make
sure he addresses the issue, doesn't piss
off his professor that much because at the
end of the day, that professor's gonna give
him a grade.
But he can ask for help in that way.
The other way is asking for help in interprets
of Jorge say he's doing bad in his Chem class.
Asking for help is hey, Jorge, you got to
go to, you know, here's a tutor who I know
that I respect, that I know is gonna treat
you well, I hook him up with that specific
person.
He just told me, I don't know if I share this,
but he had not done so well in an English
class, but he figured out through resources
and through learning about campus and himself,
he retook the class and got an A on it.
So, you know, it's, like, so it's one is using
the resources like ourselves that can help
you but also, you know, trying to help yourself
out by, you know, again finding out what resources
are out there.
But at the end of the day, we don't want you
to try to do things by yourself.
And so the important thing I want you to get
out of this is that through the entire time
that we're together, this semester or the
next year or two that you're with us, that
we want to teach you different ways to ask
for help.
And that you don't ever have to try to figure
out on your own because we're there to help
you through the process.
And then the next thing is, that there's going
to be a focus, specifically it's called hombre
to hombre, it's called men to men.
Obviously it's in Spanish.
We do have a Latinx focus to what we're talking
about.
We will have some topics that you may already
be interested in.
There's other topics that we want to expose
you to.
For example, I tell people that unfortunately
my high school career was, there was never
really a discussion about being Latino.
All the books that I read were written by
White people, the heroes were White individuals
by the most part.
We never really talked about, you know, individuals
that look like me growing up.
So with that said, when I got to community
college, I didn't really know, I didn't really
have role model that's looked like me.
But what was cool was that at community college
I started to learn a little bit about it.
When I transferred to UCLA, I became a Chicano
studies major, why was I referred to as a
Hispanic?
Why do I refer to myself now at Latinx as
opposed to Hispanic?
So we can talk about those things as well
if it's something that interests you.
And then the other part which I shared with
you was the financial aid piece.
So we'll definitely be talking about financial
aid.
So Dennis?
Just --
>> Yeah, I mean, this also goes back to speaking
about once again, creating a comunidad, creating
a family with each other.
Definitely getting to know one another because
a lot of the people who attend the session
are also students who are in their second
and third year and can also give you some
type of guidance, like, you know what, I took
this class during this semester with this
professor and I'll tell you what, since math
isn't my strongest suit, this professor Jeff
when he got down and told us, how to go about
passing the class.
I think that's kind of cool because this is
the part where everybody has, like, everybody's
very welcoming and talks about the different
networks that they have, even within themselves.
As I mentioned, we do provide a lot of counseling
also throughout the process.
So we talk about, like, further, like, what
type of classes you should be taking.
Also how to look in to classes more specifically,
like, using Rate My Professor, using grade
distribution and also how to get involved
with campus clubs as well.
We have over 80 clubs on campus, so there's
a lot of ways to get involved.
We talk about those different ways, you're
interested in art, how about you join the
art club, this is who we know from the art
club that can get you involved.
There's definitely a lot of those connections
that go on while we're doing this as well.
>> Thank you, Dennis.
And Dennis did mention this part.
But we are getting practical information as
well.
So the point that he just mentioned, the SMC
grade distribution.
If you, if you've never heard of it, you should
Google it right now.
Find SMC grade distribution so you can find
out which professors teach which classes,
which, you know, which professors have students
who get a lot of As in their classes, get
a lot of F's.
You should be using those types of tools when
you're picking your classes.
So in addition, we're going to be talking
about again, so it's called the SMC grade
distribution.
Another very practical tool, but again it's
something that I'm amazed that not, enough
of you know about this, but it's so important.
It's called the blue and gold opportunity
plan.
So, if you've never heard of that, definitely
you should look in to it.
It's called again, the blue and gold opportunity
plan.
Why's it important?
The reason why it's so important is because
it's a program through the UC system that
was created specifically for Black and Brown
students or, they say it was created for working
class students.
But the reality is, we're keeping it real
here, was that the UC system needed more Black
and Brown students.
A lot of Black and Brown students were saying
I'm not gonna apply to UCLA, not to the UC
systems why, because it was too expensive.
The data was actually showing that Latinos
were the number one group who had the GPA
to get in the UC system, but they weren't
applying.
So they created this program where if a family
makes less than $80,000 a year, then you automatically
get free tuition to any of the UC system schools.
So if you get in to UC Davis, UC Berkeley,
you name it, 100% your tuition is covered.
If you, you know, if your family makes less
than $80,000 a year.
The other caveat to that is that Dennis and
I look at a lot of financial aid letters when
students get accepted.
So just to give you a little background.
When you guys apply to transfer, let's say
you apply to transfer last fall.
Well, hold it.
Jorge, you're applying this fall?
Jorge, yeah, okay.
So Jorge's gonna apply this fall.
This is what's going to aplay to Jorge and
for you in the future.
Jorge will apply in the fall, ideally he gets
to all the schools he gets to, congratulations,
you got in to all your schools.
So once he gets in, he's gonna get a financial
aid letter with all those acceptances.
And the financial aid letters are a little
confusing.
But at the end of the day, Dennis and I will
sit down with Jorge we'll say hey, man, this
is the breakdown of each financial aid letter.
And Jorge are decide now that he knows how
much financial aid they'll give him, free
money, now he'll decide, okay, I'm gonna go
to this school.
So the reason I bring this up to you is what
we notice is that even though Cal states are
less expensive on paper, the Cal states tend
to not give money for students living on campus
because they assume students will live at
home.
So the beauty, students that apply to UCs
not only get their tuition paid for but a
lot of times they actually get more money
to live on campus.
So those are little insider, a little bit
of insider information that we can give you
through hombre to hombre.
Sorry, real quick, I want to make sure I tell
you guys, I'm not telling you not it apply
to the Cal states, apply to Cal states and
UCs and all other campuses so you get a lot
of financial aid offers.
>> Yeah, I just wanted to mention during one
of our more popular hombre to hombre workshops
we go in to a computer lab and we also work
on the SMC scholarship.
So we dedicate, like, an hour 20 to literally,
we have a few faculty who are there to assist
you, finishing up the SMC scholarship and
a lot of the people who go to that workshop
come out and they end up getting, like, 1,000
to $5,000 in scholarship that they can use
to pay off not only here at SMC but also when
they can take it out to their own transfer
institutions as well.
So that's another caveat as well.
>> Yeah.
And we're telling you guys, like, you know
what, what Dennis just said right now, it's,
like, real money.
So it's not, like, fake money, you literally
will get checks if you complete this scholarship
and it's not too intimidating, it's pretty
amazing how many scholarships they offer.
But you just need to submit it.
That's where we come in to help you guys.
So we wanted to kind of tell you guys just
in terms of the facilitator experience first.
And then from there, we're gonna leave it
to Anthony and Jorge to talk about their experience
and then also if you guys want to start asking
questions on the discussion, because at the
end of the day, that's what we're really here
for is to kind of get some, you know, feedback
from you guys in terms of what's going on
in your mind, what do you want us to answer,
it's a big step in your life that you're starting
college or starting at SMC.
So we want to answer all your questions.
So in terms of facilitator experience for
hombre to hombre, I'll keep it real with you
guys.
It's kind of crazy this semester coming up
because we haven't done a lot of Zoom workshops
and we want to keep, you know, we don't have
that connection with you guys like we did
face to face.
Like Dennis was saying, it was nice to share
pizza with you guys and kind of, like, just
have a discussion and we can't do that right
now.
We're not gonna be able to do that this fall.
But we want to make sure we still keep that
connection with you guys somehow.
So Dennis and I are gonna try our hardest
to do that.
So just, in the future, we'll be most likely
meeting via Zoom.
So we'll be able to see your faces.
And I think that will also help in terms of
the intimacy of trying to get to know you
guys.
But I love doing this workshop as a facilitator
because I was a community college student,
I'm an immigrant, I was a crappy high school
student who got it together in college, community
college and transferred to UCLA.
So I wish I would've had something like this
at my community college.
So yeah.
So it feels good to just have a connection
with you guys.
So I really like doing the workshops and I
welcome you guys.
Dennis?
>> Yeah, I definitely feel the same.
I actually went straight from high school
to UC Santa Barbara.
However, when I went directly to Santa Barbara,
I realized the lack of -- because I also grew
up in South L.A., South Gate, Watts area and
didn't really have the understanding of the
guidance that I needed to go in to such a
predominantly White institution and how to
navigate it as somebody that's Latino.
So, my first years at Santa Barbara were really
rough because I didn't realize the concept
of asking for help, asking for a mentor and
what that meant for my success down the road.
So hosting these workshops really means a
lot because it gives me the opportunity to
assist you all with those questions that I
wish somebody had told me, like, you know,
you should maybe think about scholarships,
you should maybe think about taking this class,
you know, going to see this person.
So I very much appreciate doing these workshops
and once again, I was, like, Dr. Jimenez said,
I also welcome you all.
>> All right.
So this is where Jorge and Anthony step in.
So we'll, I'll mute myself, Dennis if you
want to ask them the questions to start off
with.
>> Of course.
So Jorge and Anthony, any tips for incoming
students?
And I'll leave it up to you guys who goes
first.
>> Can you hear me?
>> I'll go first.
So --
>> Oh, go, Anthony.
>> Yeah, I can hear you.
All right.
>> Go, Anthony.
>> A big thing, is meet with your counselor
as much as you need to.
Don't feel like you're a bother.
They're here to help you.
And really -- ask the questions you want to
ask.
Don't feel ashamed, put your pride aside.
Ask what you need to ask.
Also, go with them before you make big decisions.
Big thing for me -- well, last semester was
that I was gonna run for Associated Student
and last minute, I dropped it and I didn't
ask anybody, like, you know, on their opinion
whether I should drop it.
I feel if I went, I could've gotten the reassurance
I could do it, I could really help lead these
students and, you know, their daily lives
and stuff.
And another thing is go to office hours.
Please go to office hours.
You know, your professor's human too.
They're more than willing to accommodate you
and what you need.
And it can really help you with your experience
on campus or through Zoom, now that you're
not on campus.
Jorge, you want to go?
>> Definitely second that.
The example that Dr. Jimenez gave earlier,
like, I took English two almost a year ago
at SMC and then I started off that class failing,
like, I failed the first essay like I thought
I was a solid writer.
But getting used to college is a process and
the reason that I was able to turn that F
in to an A was because of office hours.
And because of, like, the thing that I want
to highlight the most is to build a solid
relationship with a professor, especially
because, like, if anything ever happens to
you down the line over the course of the class,
they're gonna want to start hearing from you
and then once you have that relationship built,
they'll probably be a little bit more understanding
as to what might stop you from succeeding
in the class.
And then that will be able to help you a lot
more.
>> Perfect.
And the cool thing is that both of you touched
upon something that's very important which
is asking for help.
And we know that's very important.
So I want to -- I want to hear from you all,
why do you think that's important?
And you know, especially being at SMC, why?
And Jorge, do you want to start us off?
>> Yeah, I think it's important because just
asking for help period is really important,
why, it's going to be really helpful for your
success at SMC so that while you're going
through the process of kind of like that beginning
phase of getting used to college, you can
have that support system through your professors,
through your counselors, like, if you need
someone to help you talk you down the edge
if you're nervous or anything that's going
on with you academically or for your well-being,
that will be something or in order to just
stay on the course, if that makes sense.
>> Anthony?
>> Oh, yeah, so like you said, it's really
nerve wracking.
Especially when you're in your first semester
of college.
I remember because my, and Jorge can relate
to this too, it's super long and it's by yourself
the entire time.
You start to feel lonely the first semester.
And it affects your grades.
And talk to your professors can really help
you, like, fix that.
Going to the hombre to hombre, can we find
a community, and you know, they've been through
it, they're going through it as well.
You know, and it just makes you feel more
relaxed, I guess.
Would be the word.
And it can reassure you of what you're doing
and, you know, things like that.
>> And I wanted to add too, like, one of the
most exciting things for me about starting
SMC was that it was gonna be kind of, like,
it was a new book, a blank page, a chance
to start over completely, build myself the
way I wanted to of the and one of the points
I made when I started going to school, I was
going to the programs and speaking to the
counselors, setting myself up for success
as much as I could because I knew there was
-- [technical glitch] -- and possibly learn
how I should handle things.
So don't be afraid of starting out, don't
be, like, mad at yourself for [ Indiscernible
] -- [technical glitch] -- that you can handle
them.
And as you move on.
>> Perfect.
And I think asking for help both of you talked
about is traits of good leaders.
Knowing that you don't have all the answers.
So becoming a leader is something that's important
and we want to know how you all did it as
Latino leaders on campus.
Anthony, I'll let you start off.
>> All right, for sure.
So, for, it feels weird, you know, I won't
put that face.
But big thing is to talk to as many people
as you can.
Form those relationships.
And another thing is to help out those who
you're able to help out.
So you're not, I would help people, especially
my first year coming here, how to ride the
metro, the lines, how to work them so you
don't get lost in school, and the classes,
help them write the essays, so they know how
to format it.
The big one.
And also the realization that being a leader
doesn't put you above everyone else.
You just have the opportunity to help lead
them to where they need to go.
>> Perfect.
Jorge?
>> Yeah, I would agree.
A big part of what helped me become a leader
-- [technical glitch] -- [ Indiscernible ] as
a shy person, I was afraid to speak, I didn't
always [ Indiscernible ] charge in the room.
Over time [ Indiscernible ] got March comfortable
in picking up that role by just getting to
know the people around me and just, like,
talking to people in my classes, like, helping
people out, whether it was through the office
hours I was attending and then over time,
like, office hours specifically on those days
would help me out the most.
As I was investing this time at getting better
in my classes, I would get used to talking
to people around me and leading people and
guiding them to do things the right way or
[ Indiscernible ] and so, like, what the experiences
that happened there helped me be comfortable
with speaking with other people.
And yeah.
That's how I did it.
>> Perfect.
And you both are excellent leaders by the
way, just gonna give you a little pat right
there.
So definitely talking about hombre to hombre,
how has that been a part of hombre to hombre
helped you, to connect to others and faculty
and staff while on campus?
>> The big things it gives us a space [ Indiscernible
] where we can talk about, without fear of
being judged.
It gave us, it was easier for us to connect
with other people without the facade, you
know?
You know, you can really connect with who
we are, who we actually are.
A big thing when I first showed up on campus,
I didn't want to go to school at all.
I know I talked to [ Indiscernible ] about
it, but I really didn't want to be there.
But later on with first year students, they
don't want to be there either.
We would use the free pizza as an excuse to
go to hombre to hombre at first.
But once we started getting comfortable, we
started going.
But we're just going for the experience.
But it was really a big thing, that transition,
I feel to be comfortable with one another.
But yeah.
And then realizing that, you know, your counselors
are people that they have their own experiences
that you guys have similarities.
Like, with counselor Funes, he went to my
high school.
And then, like, the, me and Dr. Jimenez, we
listen to roughly the same music.
He listens to Rage Against the Machine, I
listen to Rage against the machine, my uncle's
into Rage Against the Machine.
We're all similar.
It brings down intimidation when you first
come in, you know?
>> Perfect.
Jorge?
>> What I really liked about it was that -- [technical
glitch] -- [ Indiscernible ] for me, supposed
to be myself and talk about things going on
in my life and especially because in college,
it's so easy to get caught up in your own
bubble if that makes sense, there will be
challenges and things you face but it's also,
when it comes to classes that are specific
to your major, like when you're constantly
stressing about the little things that are
happening on a daily basis with that, having
that basis really good like the mental health
and also just to keep you [ Indiscernible
] a place to have fun and especially a good
place to network with other guys on campus
and also with the [ Indiscernible ] in case
they ever, reach out from someone else.
>> Perfect.
And yeah, I think that's the great thing,
again.
It's about community building, and always
asking for help.
So we're gonna open up the Q&A on the discussion
if any of you have questions for Jorge or
Anthony.
And yeah.
If there's any other questions that you may
have for us as well.
>> Yeah.
I wrote, I wrote on there, do you have -- [Overlapping]
can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
So I just wrote, do you have any questions
for us, ask us anything you want, if it's
somewhat appropriate, we'll answer.
We'll answer anything.
This is what hombre to hombre is about.
It doesn't have to be specific to school.
You can ask us any questions and we'll answer
as best as possible.
If the students don't ask anything, if Anthony
or Jorge, do you have any questions for myself
or Mr. Funes?
Anything again, it doesn't have to be related
to your grades.
>> I have one.
>> Go for it.
>> Yeah.
So then for me, a big part of, like, staying
motivated and also staying consistent when
it comes to being, like, my classes, my hardest
class and stuff like that, I notice that in
me, the easiest way to staying motivated and
to also keep ahead of myself is by trying
to work out or trying to dedicate some time
to work out at some point in the week.
So I had something to distract myself from
that.
But also to kind of push me to go and do that
too.
I just kind of like to keep my head clear.
Ways curious for you two, what ways did you
find to destress or take your minds off the
hard things of college?
>> Yeah, so for me, while I was at Santa Barbara
and I see Jason also asked, what are the best
unstressors, would have to be when I was in
college, hanging out with friends, going to
the gym while I was there, I would pick up
basketball pretty often, it was nice because
some of the people I played pickup basketball
were in my classes.
I wouldn't feel as guilty because I wasn't
doing my assignment, but also some of the
people in my class weren't doing the assignment
because we were playing basketball.
But understanding that self, and school is
part of my life but I have a personal life
and that includes things I enjoy, being active
and talking with family.
So.
>> For me, it's a few things.
I guess one would be, like, Dennis was saying,
going out with friends.
And I think part of it is just making sure
you have a good balance.
Because I think that's what you guys got to
figure out for yourself.
Like at UCLA, there was a lot of going out,
partying kind of thing.
Basically I told my friends, I'm gonna focus
on school, basically Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
And Thursday till, like, 3:00 and then the
rest of the time, you can, you know, I'll
hang out with you guys when I have time.
But they always knew that school was first,
you know?
But I think it was, like, but in my mind I
always knew all right.
I cannot go out on these nights.
You know, thiss my thing.
If I do, things are gonna fall apart.
I feel if you try to be that person, okay,
I'm just gonna go hang out with my friends,
when I come back, I'm gonna study.
That falls apart, eventually it catches up
to you.
That's one thing, keep a good balance but
also a good schedule of that.
Whatever's a solid balance.
And then the second thing is community college
is when I started meditating, but not meditation
in terms of, like, people are, like, when
you think of meditation, like, Buddha and
stuff.
I do something called mindful meditation.
Where basically and I'll share the link with
everybody right now.
But basically it's a 3-6 minute, like, recording
where someone just walks you through it, like,
if there's one called loving meditation, they're,
like, okay, I want you to think about someone
you love.
And so you think about it.
And then they're, like, now I want you to
think about being with that person on a walk.
So it's visual meditation in a sense.
But that actually works for me because what
you're gonna realize which is kind of scary
when you meditate is that it's one of the
few times in the entire 24 hours when you're
awake where you're just not thinking about
a bunch of other stuff.
And you're not on your phone and you're not,
you know, like, doing all these other things.
So I think that taking five to seven minutes
a day to do that, and I do it every day.
I've done it my entire life over the last
20 years.
Again, it's only five minutes.
It's not a lot.
And then the third thing I would say is the
working out.
I got to either work out every day or I make
out, I make sure that I do, I have this little
thing, I make sure I do 10,000 steps and that
actually really helps me with my stress.
Sometimes I'll feel bad about myself, I see
that I at least got my 10,000 in the day,
or I'll get 9,000 or I'll walk around the
house, in front of my neighborhood, and get
my 10,000.
I think that helps with my stress.
Let's see if there's any other questions,
if not, Anthony or Jorge, any other questions?
Ask anything you want, Anthony or Jorge.
>> Okay.
So this one's more like your friends.
How do you separate yourself from a bad environment?
So you know you have your friends on campus
and your friends back home, your friends back
home don't have it together, you love them
to death, but it gets in the way of what you're
doing in school.
How do you separate yourself without completely,
you know, messing it up or something.
>> You know, it's a, it's funny because you
say that, Anthony, I remember having this
conversation with Dr. Jimenez when I started
working at SMC and I asked him, you know,
I have my buddies at home who are, you know,
they do what they got to do but then I have
my friends who are a little bit, you know,
they got it, I guess quote unquote figured
out, right?
And the separation of the two was, like, always
understanding that for myself, where I came
from and understanding hey, what I bring to
the table and understanding that they're still
my friends at the end of the day.
But I'm also there to empower them -- empower
them I guess is not the right word but show
them, like, hey, one of us is doing it.
So why not you?
And I think for me it's just always been understanding
hey, it's going to be a different vibe between
different social circles and being okay with
that and knowing hey, I have nothing against
them but at the end of the day, those are
the ones I grew up with, right?
There's always that separation of different
types of conversations and just knowing where
they come from and where I come from.
>> Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you I think it's
one of the hardest things to do especially
not only if it's your friends, but especially
if it's a girl.
If it's, like, you're dating someone and they
don't go to college, that's almost like a
-- it's gonna impact you in a negative way
academically just because -- so I'll start
with the girlfriend part.
Because if you're dating someone that's not
in school, they're not gonna be as interested
in you talking about college, you know, or
your classes because they're not gonna be
able to relate.
And I feel like that's what happened with
my friends as well.
Was I would tell them hey, this is what's,
you know, going on in school.
They could care less.
Or they would make me feel like an idiot for
going to college.
Oh, why are you wasting your time?
Or hey, let's go get food, let's just go do
this instead.
School's so far away.
I did something that both you, Anthony, and
Jorge did.
I didn't go to the community college by my
house, I went far away.
I think that helped me because I was spending
so much time on campus and away from them.
Then, another thing, to keep it real, real,
I know it's being recorded but it's true,
it's what happened in my life.
So one of the things that actually happened
for me was I was staying away from a lot of
those guys more and more, the more that I
went to school.
And then based -- but I would still want to
hang out with them because I felt guilty.
Oh, that's the crew I grew up with, they're
my family.
When you spend so much time with someone,
you just feel like they're a part of you,
you know?
So anyways, so the real, real true breakup
with these guys actually happened, I got accepted
to UCLA and we, and I was gonna go out with
them one last night just to have a great time.
And we actually, we got in trouble that night.
I actually got in a car accident and I got
a DUI.
So, and it happened because one of the guys
was really drunk and we were driving and they
actually pulled my steering wheel thinking
it was funny and I crashed my car.
And I ended up getting a DUI out of it.
It was a mess.
And then I hit them all up saying hey, you
guys saw what this guy did, are you guys gonna
have my back?
And those guys were, like, yeah, I got your
back.
As the time went when I had to show up at
court because all those guys hung out so much
because they didn't go to school, they -- and
I was the one going to school so I didn't
have that close, like, tie with them -- little
by little, one after the other was, like,
sorry, man, I didn't see him pull your steering
wheel, I didn't see it, I didn't see it.
You know, and then fast forward, I show up
to in front of the judge, I had to take the
hit.
And it just, that made me realize, like, the
people who were there for me were my parents
and my sister and my family.
And then that was a crappy way to learn a
lesson who's there for you during those dark
times.
But yeah.
The crazy thing about it, I go back to my
neighborhood to visit my parents and those
guys are still there, you know.
And I've had a couple of them actually come
up to me and apologize for that.
But it's really sad to see that now these
guys are in their 40s, they're riding their
bikes still, some of them got addicted to
stuff, went to prison, like, all these things.
They come by the house to look for me.
But, in a weird way, that was a blessing that
that happened to me.
Because it made it easier for me to cut ties.
Because I think I would've continued to in
a sense they were dragging me down sometimes.
So I wouldn't tell you -- hopefully you don't
ever have to get in that situation to do that,
I'm not saying cut away from all your friends
in the neighborhood.
But you do have to distinguish who are the
ones who are gonna have your back, not only
when you're, like, down, but also have your
back when you're up.
When you celebrate something.
That they're really, truly happy for you.
I think that's important.
>> Yup.
Perfect.
And there's a question that you can recommend
any passionate counselors for myself, you
have Dr. Jimenez and myself, our e-mails are
there, you're more than welcome to hit us
up, our virtual doors are open to you if you
have any questions to help you out on.
>> Yeah, I would like Anthony and Jorge if
there's other counselors involved yes, we
love you guys, we want to hang out with you
guys but if there's other counselors -- because
I'm gonna tell you right now, we all have
our different styles.
So I'm gonna give you an example.
There's a counselor named Ms. Patty Del Valle.
She's awesome.
And her style is very loving.
Like, she's a mother figure.
You know, so if you want that kind of style,
she's the one for you.
You know?
So her name is patty Del Valle and she's a
counselor in the Adelante.
I'm interested to know what Anthony and Jorge
will actually say.
But I think I'm a little more honest with
you, if you're being a knuckle head, I'll
challenge you, why are you being a knuckle
head.
About yeah, go ahead, Anthony and Jorge, who
do you guys recommend or have been counselled
by us?
>> I've been counselled by Dr. Jimenez, he's
a good counselor, he will tell you how it
is, analyze your situation and -- -- [technical
glitch] -- to things when you want to change
your major and really envisioning where you
want to be and what that means, like, not
only if you enjoy it but also financially,
time wise, like, are you sure you want to
live this far from your family, what do you
want to do with this career?
Like, how, a bunch of, like, different things
to go in depth.
And also, be really honest with you about
any situation that's -- [technical glitch]
-- they'll give you feedback.
Really helpful.
>> Cool.
Thanks a lot, man.
How about Anthony, do you guys recommend anybody
else?
>> Yeah, so you two are cool, up for opportunities,
another counselor that's pretty dope is Counselor
Backus.
He's really good with all the business stuff
he finds little opportunities with internships
and stuff.
And yeah.
-- [technical glitch] -- [ Indiscernible ].
>> The other one I want to tell you guys about
-- sorry, the one I want to tell you guys
about is Esmeralda Martinez.
If you guys are, like, a little lost on what
you want to do as your major, she's actually
a career counselor and she works for Adelante.
Also I would suggest taking her class.
If you don't know your major, "I don't know
what I'm gonna do after SMC," take her class.
It's counseling 12, if you can write it in,
Dennis, Esmeralda Martinez, counseling 12.
She has a few spots open.
She's a cool lady.
I highly recommend her.
And then professor Backus was the one Anthony
suggested.
And he's a very USC guy.
So I give him some drama for that because
I'm a bruin.
But he has some huge connections at USC.
So if you guys want to go to USC, he's your
guy.
He's a great guy in general.
And we literally have two minutes left.
So if there's any last questions, go ahead
and ask us.
Or if you guys have 30 seconds each of any
advice, go for it.
Dennis?
We'll get you.
30 seconds.
>> Yeah, I would just like to say that during
your first year, don't be afraid to ask for
help, it could be intimidating being virtual
as we enter the fall.
But reach out to people, e-mail people, search
them up.
Know that there's a community here if you
ever get stuck as well.
>> Jorge, 30 seconds.
>> I would say don't be scared of the process
of growth in college it could reveal something
natural, you're gonna make mistakes and also
gonna have huge successes, embrace both and
hold yourself accountable for the work you
do.
And don't ever feel intimidated, like, in
asking for help or going in office hours because
the professors like when students come up
to them and talk to them.
[ Indiscernible ].
>> Cool.
Awesome.
Thank you, Jorge.
Anthony, 30 seconds.
>> So like Jorge said, go to office hours.
And then going back to the friends thing,
please see who is dragging you down and who's
not, you know.
-- [technical glitch] -- [ Indiscernible ] I
love them, you know, to death.
One college, I'm not spending time with them.
See who's also going to school, doing the
CC thing, even going to far away schools,
keep in touch and talk about what interests
you.
You feel me?
>> Nicely done.
For me, I would say, one's very practical.
Write things down, guys.
The point we gave you all the info on the
chat about professors and I told you about
the blue and gold, I told you about the grade
distribution, you got to write stuff down.
If you didn't write stuff down during this
entire talk, you're losing out.
Make sure whatever class you go to, Zoom,
all that stuff, workshops, write stuff down.
And then the second thing is just as they
say in my grandma was a, not the, she was
a little, she said a lot of bad words, let's
say.
You know, so she would say, dale ganas, canijo.
You know, give it your effort.
You know, because this is your only time,
this is the only life you live.
So dale ganas because it will always work
out with ganas and then you have a community
to help you.
So thank you, everyone, we're happy you joined
us and hopefully you reach out to us in the
future.
>> Perfect.
See you all later.
>> Gracias.
Adios!
