While attending Ygnacio Valley High School, Ivan Hernandez learned about DVC’s award-winning transfer programs. After hearing that he could complete two years of classes at the college and receive dedicated support with transferring to a university to finish his bachelor’s degree, he was sold. “I found out that DVC provides lots of different resources for students to pursue higher education. It became clear that it’s a great place to learn and explore.”
Ivan credits his success during a difficult first year to DVC’s Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Learning Community. “I didn’t know anyone my first semester, and I didn’t have any way to get to know people in person, because everything was online during the pandemic. MESA would host meetings so we could meet other people, which was very helpful. MESA is also straightforward in coaching you through your academic program and they have student tutors, who are very knowledgeable.”
While at DVC, Ivan majored in computer science, and explored business and entrepreneurship classes. He says, “I chose computer science as my major because I want a job that will be flexible to either work remotely or in-person, and the flexibility to go into different career paths such as the medical or finance field, software development, or entrepreneurship. I always wanted to help people one way or the other, and I knew if I worked in technology the impact I would have would be tremendous. I want to leave the world better than I found it.”
Besides his passion for technology and business, Ivan is an integral part of DVC’s community and continues to show his interest in supporting the mission of community college to serve fellow and prospective students. He served as the student body president and was recently elected to the Student Trustee position at the district. “I want to continue my efforts in student government to take things to the state level and hopefully help the district itself.”
Ivan graduated this spring and plans to transfer to a university to continue his studies in computer science. “When I finish my undergraduate education, I’ll look into working or possibly getting my masters right after or try to do a little bit of both.”
In the meantime, he hopes other high school students will learn about the advantages of community college and that DVC is a great place to start. “Coming to DVC I saved money, made friends, took all my lower division coursework and took advantage of the many travel opportunities available. And I realized that I’m surrounded by people who are doing amazing things and by students who will, in a few years, be involved with leading this country. That inspires me!”
