Vivian's Background

Vivian Guerrero grew up in Los Angeles and moved to San Francisco for a change of pace. She worked at the YMCA as a Strengthening Families Specialist. “We basically reach out to families that are struggling communication wise, and we teach them to give them better communication skills.” She was always a good student but sometimes suffered from mental health issues growing up. “I was depressed and had anxiety. That really affected my outlook of school, but when I came to CCSF, it was really positive.”

What Brought Vivian to CCSF

After moving to the city, Vivian was aware of CCSF as she had friends attending already. After looking at her options, she liked that she could explore different fields she was interested at an affordable price if she went to CCSF. “I just like learning, and I like being challenged—pushing my limits and getting as much knowledge as I can.”

Vivian's CCSF Experience

During the time Vivian attended CCSF, her field of study changed from anthropology to psychology and then finally to computer science. In addition to her computer science classes, she enjoyed taking classes on the side like modern dance and cello. “I just wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new, and it’s fun. I like that I get to do that here; I get to explore different passions.” Vivian also got the chance to be a teaching assistant for her computer science course in Java. “I get to review what I'm learning by teaching them. I definitely like computer science, because I get to create things out of basically nothing. I get to see the results right away. I can make a game on the computer that I can play.”

Why CCSF Was a Good Choice for Vivian

Vivian is grateful to have had the opportunity at CCSF to try out new things and find her passion in an affordable program. She continues to dance and plans on picking up the cello again in the future. “The teachers are really helpful, and I just feel like they’re really passionate about what they teach. And they actually enjoy it.” Although Vivian had several choices for transferring, she chose Mills College to study computer science because of smaller class sizes. She hopes to apply her skills one day to the health sector. “I can see myself working in public health. There are people who use computer science to track illnesses and diseases, trying to prevent them.”

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