COMPTON – Compton College student Sadia Escovar likes to share her student success story in hopes that it will inspire others to improve their quality of life. “I believe that I am meant to make a difference by helping others, however, I kept suppressing my dream of becoming a language interpreter instead of feeding my dream,” she said.
Escovar is a 2004 graduate of Jordan High School who first enrolled at Compton College in 2006 but ended up dropping out during her first semester. She landed a job in finance that paid a good wage. “I got content with that and was good at my job,” she said. “I worked for the company for 15 years and then realized I had no more opportunities for growth with limited education. Then at age 31, I was a single parent to my newborn child.”
In spring 2019, Escovar again enrolled at Compton College determined to make her dream become a reality. “When I came back to college, I decided to take advantage of all the resources available to stay on track, and I made a plan to enroll in classes every semester/term offered in order to finish sooner,” she said. In less than two years, Escovar has met the requirements for an associate degree in Spanish at the end of the fall 2021 semester. In addition, she is just 12 units away from earning a second associate degree in Ethnic Studies which she will complete this coming spring and graduate with two associate degrees in June 2022. She plans to transfer to a local California State University campus to earn her bachelor’s degree with the future goal of becoming a certified state interpreter and translator for a courthouse.
“While I feel very confident with technology, I had to face my fears of online learning during the pandemic,” she said. “I’m a social person and prefer face-to-face situations, but I adapted by being present just like I would be in a physical classroom. I went out of my way to participate and build friendships with my classmates. That led to other students feeling comfortable to reach out to me with questions, to study, and to become support systems for each other.”
Escovar also became involved in other campus activities. With a desire to do things she didn’t do in high school, as well as advocate for students, she applied for and was appointed to the Associated Student Government position of Commissioner of Athletics for 2020-21. She also tried out for Compton College’s inaugural women’s volleyball team and earned an honorable spot as the oldest player on the team. “As Commissioner of Athletics, I made a point to make myself known within the Tartar Athletics Program and met a lot of students from other sports,” she said. “I was able to inform my fellow athletes about helpful resources available at Compton College such as applying for financial aid, extra support through the EOPS/CARE programs, career counseling, and the importance of completing an official educational plan to stay on track.”
As a member of Compton College’s student government, Escovar is honored to be selected by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges to participate in the Community College League of California’s annual statewide conference at the end of January 2022. She will be among a panel of students who will share their stories related to barriers to enrollment and other community college student challenges experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Escovar says she is thankful for Compton College and was very comfortable with its small college environment. “Compton College is a very supportive community,” she said. “I met a lot of people that came from similar backgrounds. It was my place to be, and I don’t know if I would have grown as much as I have academically and professionally if I had gone to another community college.”
