Comet Stories
Aspiring Novelist Gwendolyn Bullocks Says, ‘This is My Time!’
Gwendolyn Bullocks came to CCC with the goal of becoming a writer. “I used to always write. I have one book published. I want it where I travel with my books. I want to be a full-fledged novelist,” Gwendolyn explains. Gwendolyn will be graduating this May...
Duy Masuno Went from Business Major to Biotech Pro
Duy Masuno was born in Vietnam. When she was a teenager, her mother asked if she wanted to study abroad. Duy jumped at the opportunity. She moved to Los Angeles, where she completed high school. When family in the Bay Area told her mother that there...
Marisol Contreras Discovered Her Potential at CCC
Marisol Contreras joined the Metas program later than most. She was unhappy at her regular school, where eighth grade classmates weren’t as interested in learning as she was, and some of the teachers actually discouraged her from trying. “I wanted to learn,” she remembers. “I was...
Early Childhood Education Grad Jannika Wagner Says Stick With It
Jannika Wagner has a message for you: “It’s okay to take baby steps.” “Think big,” she says, “and figure out the small steps to get there.” Jannika graduated from Contra Costa College recently, but she first came here back in the late 90s, when she took...
Lavonn Ambeau Changed Her Life at CCC
Lavonn was a stay-at-home mom. Her twins were born prematurely and their medical problems required special care. “I was on welfare,” she remembers, “living in the projects. I knew I wanted more for my kids. They couldn’t even go outside to play. But I knew nobody...
Trixy Arambulo Found Her Calling at CCC
Trixy Arambulo wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she first came to Contra Costa College. She’d been studying kinesiology at San Jose State University, but decided it wasn’t for her and moved back home to San Pablo. Inspired by friends who struggled with addiction...
‘Pay It Forward,’ Says Health + Human Services Grad Keith Hall
For years, Keith Hall struggled with drug addiction and mental illness. “Three things come out of that lifestyle,” he says. “Jails, institutions or death. You’re looking over your shoulder for the cops, you’re looking over your shoulder for people trying to rob you. It’s no way...
Auto Services Professor Laura Salas Came to CCC as a Student
Laura Salas grew up around body shops. Her father has been a collision service tech for over forty years. “He took me to work with him one spring break,” she remembers, “and I got to experience a full body shop work week. I was in love.”...
CCC Helps Healthcare Pro Better Connect with His Clients
Michael Sarvi already had a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and was well on his way to medical school when he decided to come to CCC. He was working as a Reproductive Health Specialist at Planned Parenthood and felt he wasn’t connecting with patients as well...
Carmen Santana Is the Kind of Role Model She Needed as a Kid
Growing up in Richmond, Carmen Santana struggled with poverty, domestic violence and hopelessness. Her parents never graduated high school, and didn’t know how to help her succeed. She had to work a lot just to buy basics like clothing, and missed so much high school that...