Community college students deserve better. Compared to the resources available to high schoolers in my affluent town, or those available to typical university students, the resources and communal spaces offered to community college students were subpar. 

When I founded Ohlone’s Environmental Club, I wanted to work to correct this slight in the sustainability space. As club President, I began by creating connections with environment-related clubs at local universities, such as UC Berkeley’s Zero Waste Coalition and UC Santa Cruz’s Student Sustainability Club. This made it possible for my peers and I to visualize a future in environmental careers that we could not have imagined otherwise. We also began participating in regional student sustainability efforts such as the zero waste dining halls movement and sustainability summits at local universities. 

However, in the diverse, community college setting, not everyone moves on to a four year institution. To address the alternative goals of my peers, I leaned on my professional connections, such as my docent supervisor who is a ranger with the East Bay Regional Park District and my cohort leader for the HandsOn Bay Area Youth Volunteer Council, to hold career talks where they shared their career experience and job openings at their organizations. Little by little, I felt that we were accessing opportunities we wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. 

It wasn’t always easy. While planning events, finding speakers, accessing funding, and advertising all alone, event quality was lacking. So, for our biggest project, Earth Day, I knew I needed help. I delegated advertising to an artistically-inclined club member, and partnered with professors to offer extra credit to students who participated in our garden renovation project. The event generated an attendance of over 200, more students than I ever could have imagined. 

I don’t delude myself into believing I bridged the resource gap between community college and universities. What I do believe is that my efforts are a single wooden plank on a much larger bridge, the building of which is long overdue.