Student Experience at College of San Mateo
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Student Experience


Karina Orocio
Karina Orocio UC Santa Cruz, B.A. At CSM, she took advantage of many resources and was extremely active in college life. She became involved in many student clubs and in student government where she had the opportunity to meet many people from different countries, who have different traditions. “This is what made my experience at CSM so special.”
Stephen Kadash
Stephen Kadash College of San Mateo, Fire Technology Stephen Kadash says participating in community service projects during high school inspired him to pursue a career that would allow him to serve his community on a daily basis. The dream job and career goal for this Redwood City native was to become a firefighter. “Being a firefighter is a career that gives me the opportunity to help someone who is having one of the worst days of their life and they are depending on me and the rest of the crew to help them.” Knowing the increased competition for jobs in fire service and the demand for more educated applicants, Stephen took the first step toward his career goal by enrolling at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 2012, he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in forestry and natural resources.
Chennie Castañon
Chennie Castañon UC Berkeley, B.S., Conservation Resource Studies While she was growing up, Chennie Castañon never considered going to college. Her family moved frequently; it was a lifestyle that created challenges for Chennie’s education. As a high school student, she attended no less than eight schools. Unable to settle into one school for any length of time, Chennie lost academic credits and was forced to repeat courses. Discouraged by her teachers and principals, Chennie decided to quit school when she was 17. In spite of her haphazard education, Chennie passed the GED to receive her high school proficiency certificate. Suddenly on her own, this resilient young woman spent the next ten years working to support herself and discovering what kind of a career she wanted to pursue.
Justin Hoffmann
Justin Hoffmann UC Berkeley, Political Economy From real estate to business to recreation administration and finally to political economy: that’s the journey that CSM student Justin Hoffmann has followed in his pursuit of a major. While at CSM, he was exposed to experiences and opportunities that inspired him to choose a major which would prepare him to help people in some of the most underdeveloped areas of the world.
Melissa Aliu & Sione Fanaika
Melissa Aliu & Sione Fanaika UC Santa Cruz, Sociology
Louisiana State University, Sociology
Cousins Melissa Aliu and Fehoko Fanaika come from a close-knit Pacific Islander family that greatly values a college education. Sacramento native and high school football player, Fehoko made the move to the Bay Area to be closer to his extended family and continue his football career at CSM. He lived with Melissa’s family in South San Francisco and the two cousins found themselves attending CSM at the same time. As fellow students, they provided each other with motivation to work hard and inspiration to reach their respective goals.
Rhonda Demars
Rhonda Demars College of San Mateo, A.A., Social Science Rhonda Demars “is doing her dream.” As an entrepreneur and president of her own company, which produces natural cosmetics and skincare products, Rhonda credits CSM with a share of her success, “I have to say if it wasn't for CSM and my teachers I wouldn't be where I am today!” Rhonda enrolled at CSM when she was in her late 30s with the goal of earning a degree in psychology. At that time, her philosophy was to take one class at a time while not concentrating on how long it would take to complete her degree. “Each class was a challenge but I was determined to finish. I was even awarded scholarships, which paid for books and supplies.”
Karen Naval
Karen Naval San Jose State University, Justice Studies I began my journey at CSM with the goal of obtaining an associate degree in administration of justice; I thought that a two-year degree would be all I would need to begin a career in law enforcement. As a first-generation college student, this experience was not only new but very scary for me. When I first enrolled, I worried that I wasn't capable of transferring to a four-year university. The EOPS program and Transfer Services helped me realize that not only was I meeting requirements for my associate degree, but I was satisfying the transfer requirements to attend a California State University campus as well.
Gabriel Arteaga
Gabriel Arteaga UC Riverside, B.A. What does a college graduate do with a degree in political science? For Gabriel Arteaga the answer is to enter the political arena by working for his local congresswoman.
Efrosini Proios
Efrosini Proios UC Berkeley, Molecular and Cell Biology After completing high school in Greece, Efrosini Proios decided that California was where she wanted to continue her education. Arriving in the Bay Area, she began exploring the wealth of college and university options the region offered. Efrosini recalls, “I visited CSM’s campus and it seemed like a beautiful place to go to school. And, I learned the college offered many different majors, lots of activities and had some of the best professors in the Bay Area.
Grace  Noland
Grace Noland San Francisco State University, Communications For Grace Noland, a graduate of Mercy High School in Burlingame, attending CSM was an enhancing and transforming experience. She arrived at the college as a determined and independent student uncertain of what she wanted to pursue academically, but she had confidence that she would be able to figure it out at CSM. "I wanted to start over. I wanted my successful past—that had been successful because of my dedicated parents and supportive teachers and coaches—to be put to the test. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it alone. And, I wanted my supporters to be proud that they had contributed to my success."
Samantha Seminoff
Samantha Seminoff Sonoma State University, B.A.
Arizona State University, M.A.
Enrolling at CSM was a turning point for Samantha Seminoff. Recruited to play water polo by CSM Coach Randy Wright, Samantha recognized that a wonderful opportunity had come her way. "The coaching staff showed genuine interested in me as an athlete." This helped motivate her to work hard to develop her athletic skills, and more importantly, it marked the first time that she took school work seriously.
Sebastian Grillo
Sebastian Grillo San Jose State University, B.S. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of attending a community college. However, once I visited CSM I was sold by the campus's eye opening, breathtaking views and friendly atmosphere.
Jacqueline Guilbault
Jacqueline Guilbault University of Nevada, Reno, B.A., Communications & Marketing After graduating from Mill High School, Jackie Guilbault made the strategic decision to begin college at CSM. Jackie’s plan was to explore different areas of study, select a career and then chose a university based on what would lead her to reach her career goal. “I wanted to get the most out of my community college experience and attending CSM helped me make those important decisions.” To foster her decision making, Jackie sought out internships related to her classes. Her idea was to find internship opportunities which would give her real-world experience in a career field that interested her.
Leila Sadr
Leila Sadr UC Santa Cruz, Economics I absolutely loved my experience in College of San Mateo. When I stepped onto the college campus to sign up for classes I fell in love with the environment and instantly knew that I belonged here. I made a lot of friends from all over the world — from Nepal to Russia and Lebanon — I met so many people and learned so much from them.
Nabin Shrestha
Nabin Shrestha UCLA, Applied Mathematics It was a great transition coming from my native Nepal and adjusting to the higher education system in the United States. When I first arrived in the Bay Area, I was unsure about my life. My original intent in coming to the U.S. was to study computer science, but I changed my major several times. Attending College of San Mateo helped me adjust and make decisions – I finally decided to study mathematics.
Serena Ly
Serena Ly UC San Diego, Communication I attended CSM because I was unsure of what major I wanted to pursue. At CSM, I was able to take different classes and explore different fields of study, which helped me in determining a major. I found that meeting with my counselor, joining the Transfer Club and learning about CSM’s Transfer Services helped me to decide on communication studies as my major.
Kassandra  Lastimosa
Kassandra Lastimosa UC Berkeley, Sociology and Conservation & Resources Studies I attended CSM because I knew it was a college with great transfer success. After spending a year at Loyola University in Maryland, I knew that it wasn’t the right fit. I set my eyes on the prestigious UC system that I left behind upon my high school graduation. I chose CSM because I knew it was a vehicle to reach my goal of attending UC Berkeley.
Sarah Funes
Sarah Funes UC Berkeley, Political Science Having moved to South San Francisco at 10 years old I craved the sun and a different point of view. So I decided to attend CSM with the goal of transferring to UC Berkeley. I knew I would be there longer than two years because I really struggle with math. My strategy was to complete the UC requirements and take advantage of the many resources that CSM offers.
Rodney Roberson
Rodney Roberson Certified Peer Support Specialist My journey for clarity into drug and alcoholism treatment began at the Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation Program (HVRP) on the Veterans campus in Menlo Park, California. While residing at HVRP, I established a strong desire to create a personal development plan not only to benefit myself, my family, aspired to assist individuals, Veterans and whosoever may suffer from addiction.
Burrell Floyd
Burrell Floyd Case Manager, San Francisco Mental Health My education at CSM has been an eye opener, meaning it made me aware that I could succeed at college level education. It has opened so many doors for me in my profession. I became involved with the NFL Alumni Association, workshops and speaking engagements on the Islands of Hawaii, invited to be a guest speaker at the Northern Lawyers Association, hired as a contractor to do education classes for the San Mateo Union High School District among many many more opportunities.

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