Sadia Escovar
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 2021-22. 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 was 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 in January 2022. She was
among a panel of students who shared 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."
