Immigration Education By, Bradley Aquino
W
ould you believe me if I told you that there’s a man who earned his degree at UC Santa Barbara, became a nuclear technician, and a successful businessman all because he had attended a community college? Franco Aquino is an American Immigrant who moved from the Philippines in 1946 and has found a lot of success in his time in the country. He attests his success to the fact that he was able to gain a proper education after he and his family had moved. As an immigrant from a less fortunate family, he found that attending a community college helped him in terms of allowing him to get the education he needed while still being able to afford the cost of living. Aquino is a great example of how community college can help immigrants find their footing in a new society. Aquino and I discussed the hardships current-day immigrants undergo. When asked to compare current-day immigration to back in the 50s Aquion stated, “I would think it’s a little bit harder. Things are, you know, getting more expensive. Like the groceries, the automobiles. They’re also expensive. So if you don’t get a good education and land a good job, it’s tough to make it.” Aquino is not the only one who holds this sentiment., In fact, as in the article “Keeping College Affordable for California Students”, written by Kevin Cook and Jacob Jackson. They reference a survey fromthat the California Student Aid Commission states had recently done, the data stated, “64 percent of student respondents identified college costs or the management of school and work responsibilities as the biggest obstacles to success.” (Cook and Jackson). This proves that potential college students are most likely scared off from applying to named universities for fear of the financial burden that’ll be given to them due to tuition and cost of living. As well as having other responsibilities besides school.