Student Success
Our Students
Our student body is as diverse as California, featuring many kinds of people from different walks of life. Our students hail from all across the state — from Sacramento to San Diego — and each has their own story to tell.
Ebenezer
From: Redlands | Programs: Data Analysis
Ebenezer has taken big steps to change his life before, like moving from his native Nigeria to California to be with his wife. Now, with a family including a daughter and a son on the way, it’s time for another big change. “I have a computer science degree from a college in Nigeria, but that […]
From: Rancho Cordova | Programs: Data Analysis
Ekaterina came to California to find her American dream. Her family immigrated from Russia in 2022. “We are a new family in a new country. Me, two children, and my husband,” she said. They first came to Virginia, then to New York City, but it was California where they could find housing and a job. […]
From: Orange County | Programs: IT Support; Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the stable, prosperous, career that Hai spent 15 years looking for. Hai is the first generation in his family to be born in the United States – and to go to college. “I was born in Little Saigon, in Orange County, and was raised by a single mom. Her college education in Vietnam […]
From: South Los Angeles | Programs: CRM Platform Administration; Data Analysis
Leonard’s life had seemed to be on track. He went to college, got a degree, and a job … but life can go in unexpected directions. “I got married, things happened, the pandemic derailed everything, I was in a financial bind, and then I had to restart all over again,” he said. “My plans got […]
From: Fremont | Programs: IT Support
Maurice, of Fremont, always wanted a career in tech, but was getting by working in the landscaping industry for 10 years. “You know that when you get comfortable in a place it’s hard to want to start over,” he said. When his wife became pregnant with their first child, “the fire got put in me […]
From: Rosamond | Programs: Data Analysis
Discovering what online education can do changed Brandy’s life. She wants to spend the next phase of her career designing online learning programs and taking them to the next level. “Life is changing so fast. The world is constantly changing. Education is changing. I want to be a part of that process of understanding how […]
From: San Jose | Programs: IT Support
For a little while, Binh looked like he was a Silicon Valley success story. He grew up in San Jose and wanted to work in the tech industry. He got early access to community college classes while he was in high school, then transferred to a four year university for a computer science degree. He […]
From: Bay Area | Programs: IT Support
Paul lives in the Bay Area and has always wanted to work with computers. But it seemed so complicated. He went to college, graduated with a major in economics, and worked in several different industries instead. But he had no passion for these jobs. He needed to find a way to make his career something […]
From: Los Angeles | Programs: Data Analysis
Gloria Ahn, who goes by Glo, has an active life full of new adventures. “I’ve been incredibly lucky,” she said. “For one thing, I grew up with Disneyland in my backyard.” She was attending community college, studying Arts and Human Expression, when a friend who worked for Disney suggested that she should attend an audition. […]
From: Los Angeles | Programs: Data Analysis
From: Bay Area | Programs: IT Support
Most people who go to Calbright take classes and learn new skills before they work with our Career Services program to develop their resumes and find a new job. Alicia did it her own way: “I needed a job, so I found Calbright and the first thing I did was go to Career Services and […]
From: Pittsburgh, CA | Programs: IT Support
Ask Matt what he’s doing right now, and he’s got an easy answer: he’s getting his life together. “I kind of was just at a stuck point in my life,’ he said. “I wanted to get back on my feet career-wise. I needed something to advance my position, advance my life.” It’s paying off. Two […]
From: San Diego | Programs: CRM Platform Administration
Khris, who lives in San Diego, has been in cosmetology since she was in her senior year of high school. First she was a successful stylist, then she taught cosmetology for almost 20 years. Now she’s looking for a career change. “I want to start my own consulting business for other cosmetologists, I want to […]