Student Success Stories
Ninette Tan started her career as a registered nurse before deciding to change direction, taking online rigging and coding classes that drew her toward technical art. That path led her to Berkeley City College, where she enrolled in the Animation and Virtual Production certificate programs.
Veronica Plante grew up homeschooled in the South Bay with an early interest in fine arts, but saw limited career options in a traditional liberal arts path. The arts, media, and entertainment pathway changed that — at 15, V began dual-enrollment animation classes at Cañada College. By 21, they were one of the youngest animators at Agora Studio, a global network serving animation studios worldwide.
Dante Alabastro spent 15 years as a ballet dancer before he ever set foot in a classroom for formal education — his training took the place of school for most of his childhood and young adulthood. It wasn’t until four years after high school that he began the path that would eventually lead him into cybersecurity.
Delaney Ramos’s daughter was 10 months old when she started the respiratory therapy program at Napa Valley College. She was also working as a paramedic — sometimes full-time — commuting two hours each way from her home in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
When Gavilan College leaders put on hard hats and walked the floor of their future facility with the team from Flint Builders, they weren’t just inspecting construction progress — they were watching a vision take shape.
Charles Gomez graduated high school in 2011 with plans for art school — until the cost put it out of reach. “I just didn’t have the resources to even consider that,” he says.
Mittzy Matamoros graduated from high school in Richmond in the spring of 2020 — just as the world was shutting down — without a clear sense of direction.
Margaret Nelson started Evergreen Valley College’s Automotive Program not long after high school. Five years later, she’s the one teaching Tesla technicians.
Judy Chao walked into her Fall 2025 Intro to Entrepreneurship course at City College of San Francisco with a creative idea and not much else. She’s now walking into her own storefront.
Lupe Duran’s path into the fire service started with a fire. When the Tubbs Fire destroyed his home, he didn’t step back from the devastation — he moved toward it, determined to become part of the response instead of just another person affected by it.
Isadora Vasconcelos de Lima had already built an impressive and specialized academic foundation in the world of media. Holding a BA in Social Communication and Journalism from UFRN in Brazil, as well as a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication and Public Relations from Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC, she understood how to connect with people. But in 2023, she made the bold decision to pivot her career entirely and dive into the rapidly evolving world of technology.
Nuengruethai Muengnoi, affectionately known as Ann, arrived in the United States from Thailand in 2013 with a student visa. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in Thailand, she sought to pursue her American dream in California. Years later, a challenging marriage left her and her son homeless for three months, forcing them to live in their car. Homeward Bound of Marin stepped in, providing critical support and helping them find stable housing.