Ariana Villalobos-Castillo was just one month away from her Oxnard High School graduation when she learned she wasn’t going to be able to go to the four-year university she had planned on attending.
She considered enrolling at Ventura College where some of her friends were headed, but instead chose Oxnard College, primarily because it was a shorter drive. Villalobos-Castillo, 20, told the Ventura County Reporter she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study.
“Oxnard College was just really patient with me. They were welcoming. And they made me feel seen and heard on the resources I needed to apply for community college,” she said. “That’s when I knew I was going to stay at Oxnard College and do my higher education here, because, just the way they treated me as a student, it made me feel very welcome and made me feel like a home away from home.”
Villalobos-Castillo always had an interest in human anatomy, having played sports in high school, and is majoring in kinesiology, the study of human movement with an emphasis on exercise science. The courses have opened her eyes to different job opportunities in health-related fields and she already has a part-time job working as an athletic trainer at Oxnard College.
“I enjoy every aspect of athletic training,” she said. “It’s just a great opportunity for me that was given to me at Oxnard College, and it’s expanding my interest in kinesiology even more.”
College with a heart
Villalobos-Castillo has also excelled as a student leader, and was elected Oxnard College Associated Student Government President. That position has given her a role in this year’s festivities commemorating Oxnard College’s 50th anniversary. So far, she’s attended a panel discussion of notable alumni as well as a mural unveiling.
“It made me really excited for the future. I was sitting hearing the speeches at the mural unveiling, hearing the history of Oxnard College, and I was like, I should be alive in 50 years, I would want to come back and speak on what it was like here at Oxnard College 50 years ago when Oxnard College turns 100 years old,” Villalobos-Castillo said.
“The way it’s grown so much and the resources that it has for students, the love and care it has for students just within 50 years. I can only imagine how far it’s going to go in 50 more years when we hit 100, and how much we’re going to blossom.”
Villalobos-Castillo is planning to transfer to either California State University, Northridge or Channel Islands next year after completing her associate’s degree. She’s not at all sad she didn’t start out at a university and will always cherish her time at Oxnard College.
“It changes the way you think. It changes your life experience. It changes the way you are as a person for the better,” she said, adding that going straight from high school to a junior college helps people mature.
“It just allowed me to have more clarity within what I want to do and who I want to be as a person. Especially at Oxnard College, everyone is just so happy to be there for us students and just wants the best for us students. And I think that’s what really made me gravitate towards Oxnard College, because we say this all the time, but it really is a great saying. Oxnard College is the college with a heart.”
Taking the reins during times of change
Dr. Roberto Gonzalez took over as president of Oxnard College about a year ago following over a quarter century as an administrator at Santa Monica College and West Los Angeles College in the Los Angeles Community College District. He’s happy to lead Oxnard College during such an auspicious year.
“It’s humbling just to hear the history of the college and what it’s taken to get to 50 years and the impact the college has had in that short period of time,” Gonzalez told the VCReporter.
“Every time I’m out in the community I meet alumni that are doing different things; they’re engineers, they’re public servants, they’re dental hygienists. And they really talk about the impact that the college has had on their lives.
“So it’s a point of pride for us that we got here and that we have served the working class, immigrant, military families in Ventura County, and that we continue to serve and aspire to be better, do better for our families. And all of that is impacting our region, our county and where we go in the future.”
Accolades and advancements
Gonzalez said Oxnard College has won many accolades in recent years, including landing on Top 10 lists for “return on investment,” or the economic value provided by the programs, and for serving Hispanic students. Programs it is best known for include the Oxnard College Regional Fire Academy producing new first responders and a dental hygiene program which just added the college’s first bachelor’s degree.
“So, we have a four-year degree. That’s our first one. We’re hoping that we’ll have others,” said Gonzalez, mentioning a recent partnership with the U.S. Navy and a new logistics certificate launched last year.
“Which is critical because, of course, the port (of Hueneme) being such a big economic driver for the region and of course the Navy base being such a large employer, it’s great that we have that partnership being so close to both the port and the Navy to help them out and contribute to our economic well-being here in the county,” the college president said.
Gonzalez said the Sept. 25 mural unveiling was a special day on campus since the giant artwork is right in front of Condor Hall, in the center of campus. The mural was created by alumna Elisa Torres and a team of student artists.
“In essence it depicts our history. How the college was founded, showcasing some local activists that really contributed to the area and different fields including agriculture. Advocating for farm worker rights…And of course, we highlight education and the impact of education on the lives of our students. And highlighting our fire academy and public service tracks, dental hygiene. So just highlighting the history, but also highlighting some of the programs that we have here at the college and how that has shaped the college.”
Finding direction at Oxnard College
Ventura County’s elected Clerk and Recorder and Registrar of Voters Michelle Ascencion graduated from Oxnard College after she first tried an out-of-state college on for size, not too far from the Canadian border. After graduating from Oxnard’s private Santa Clara High School, she spent one cold academic year at Eastern Washington University near Spokane.
“I couldn’t stay there; the weather was too extreme. I’m a SoCal girl, so it’s ruined me for the rest of the country,” Ascencion told the VCReporter. “So, I did one year out there, came back and went to Oxnard College from 1994 to 1996.”
There was another huge change in Ascencion’s life after returning to Oxnard; she had her first son.
“So, you know, I was a young, single mom and just kind of like trying to navigate, taking care of him, going to school, working part time. And I found the Oxnard College community to be very supportive. They have programs for students like that. So, you know, it really helps to have that support to get through those hard times,” she said.
At first, Ascencion wanted to become a veterinarian, but said she “bombed” a couple of midterms in chemistry and biology classes, and realized her brain “was not wired” for a life in science. It was an English professor who helped point her in the direction of communications and public service.
“I went to him and was just like, “God, I don’t know what to do. I thought this is what I always wanted to do, but I just can’t swing these classes.’ And he’s kind of looking at me and he goes, ‘Don’t you know that you’re an amazing writer?’ And I was like, ‘Really?’ I mean, I thought I could write okay, but I didn’t think I was amazing. And so then I thought, okay, well, let me just redirect. So then, on the spot, I decided to change my major to journalism,” she said.
“I took more writing and composition and creative writing and English classes, and I was really flourishing. So that was the new direction. Like, you know, just total pivot in my life and, you know, ended up going in that direction.”
Thanks to family and community
Back in the 1990s, graduation ceremonies at Oxnard College were on a smaller scale than they are now and graduates were encouraged to share a few words, Ascencion said.
“I thanked my parents, I thanked my family and thanked my little guy,” she said. “It’s just really cool to hear everybody’s different stories, all the different obstacles that people had to overcome to reach that day.”
Ascencion transferred to California State University, San Luis Obispo — not the easiest environment for a single mom, in her experience.
“It was tough,” she recalled. “I was homesick the first time I left, you know, it was just me. But then this time leaving I had my son with me. So it was just like, wow, I’m kind of on my own out here…not knowing what was ahead had me maybe a little fearful, a little nervous.
“But then I learned, okay, I can make it, I can do this adulting thing. It wasn’t called adulting back then, but, you know, I’m a real grown up. I can do this. I can pay bills and pay rent and make dinner and take care of my kid and study. And it was busy. It was a really busy time. I mean, I look back now and I’m just like, oh my God, how did I do all of that? But I was younger then and probably had more energy.”
As part of the anniversary celebration, Ascencion spoke during a panel discussion about her experience, her history at Oxnard College and her later rise to leadership, which included time as a public information officer for the city of Port Hueneme and Oxnard’s city clerk before she was elected to her current office.
“It’s kind of surreal, actually, because back when I was at O.C., I was young, I was poor, I was, you know, just a student. I just didn’t have a whole lot,” she said. “And then now coming back and being able to talk about my experiences and my life and my education and now as the county clerk and recorder, the first woman and person of color to be elected to that office, it felt like a full circle kind of moment.”
Ascencion said her mother was so inspired by her graduation from Oxnard College that she went back to school in her later years and earned a degree of her own. One of Ascension’s two sons is an Oxnard College graduate and one of her two daughters is a current Oxnard College student who also works on campus in the tutoring center. And even today, Ascencion still lives in the same neighborhood as Oxnard College.
“When I go on my walks, I walk through the campus all the time,” she said. “I’m really proud of the school. I’m proud that Oxnard has this fine institution. But when you say ‘institution,’ it sounds so cold, I mean, nothing about Oxnard College is cold. It’s supportive, encouraging, and it feels like they do everything they can to help their students succeed and thrive.”