Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 308 UNIVERSITY AT LAST FOR OMAR, GABY, AND LAURA Omar Ortega, Gaby Flores, and Laura Rodriguez grew up in Pescadero with college ambitions. Today, they are the first in their families to attend four- year universities. And they did it while working part-time jobs to pay for their own books, fees, and tuition. Omar Ortega graduated from Foothill Community College in Los Altos and recently enrolled in California State University East Bay to study business administration. “Cal State East Bay has been great to me. I got the opportunity to join GANAS, which is a program that targets newly arrived transfer students. Through this program I have been able to meet students from all different backgrounds that are on the same path as I.” Gaby Flores just transferred to San Jose State. She was born in Mexico and paid her own way through community college working part-time jobs. She’ll major in Sociology with a minor in Special Education. “My little sister has Down syndrome. I want to be able to help families like mine with a kid who has a disability,” she says. Laura Rodriguez pursued three different majors while attending three different community colleges before transferring to Cal State Monterey Bay to study Human Communications with a concentration in Pre-Law. “So far, I have enjoyed my experience at CSUMB, I have made a lot of new friends and have learned a lot about my own identity."