Calbright is truly statewide – right now we have students in 52 of California’s 58 counties – and we’re always looking to make new connections with new communities in every corner of the state.
In May and June that meant a special emphasis on southern California, where we attended three different events in Oceanside and San Diego.
The first event in the series was the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 2024 Active-Duty Chesty Challenge/Mud Run. We interacted with over 500 active duty members, providing them with educational resources and information for their careers both during and post military service.
“It’s so important for us to provide educational resources to our service members and their families,” said Raul Sarabia, Calbright’s regional outreach coordinator, who represented Calbright at the event. “Our method of educational delivery is almost tailor made for their needs, and it is an incredible feeling when a service member realizes they can take advantage of our programs even while they are on duty and be prepared for a new civilian career.”
After that, Calbright participated in the Rancho Peñasquitos Branch Library’s Summer Reading Program kickoff event, which featured an appearance by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. The event gave us an opportunity to share information about our educational resources to the northeast San Diego community.
The collaboration between the library and Calbright has previously led to library patrons enrolling in Calbright’s free online community college programs for working adults, and one of them attended the event this month, sharing her story. For Calbright’s staff, this highlighted the importance of collaborating with organizations that share our mission of helping Californians gain upward social and economic mobility.
“It was so rewarding to meet a Calbright student and her family in their own neighborhood,” Sarabia said. “Learning about her story really highlights the need for our institution to help Californians reach their own definition of success. Her story inspires us to proactively continue to bring Calbright out into the community.”
For our third and final event in the sunny San Diego area, we were back in Oceanside at the Camp Pendleton Base Education Center Juneteenth Career/Education Fair Event. The Fair highlights on-base, visiting schools, and supporting services to bring awareness to the Juneteenth holiday. We were grateful to highlight Calbright’s educational resources to active duty service members, veterans, family members, and Department of Defense employees.
We made some very wonderful connections and look forward to introducing Calbright to more Californians at future events! Calbright is everywhere in California, and we’re striving for students in all 58 counties.
