“My desire to continue my education and earn my high school diploma lead me to enroll at SSOC. What was very helpful to me was that the assessments that I took at the beginning of my enrollment at the adult school helped to gauge my proficiency levels for math and English comprehension.
If I had to tell a friend about my experience, I would tell him/her that the adult school system is a great resource for both earning a high school diploma and a certificate for various technical skills. My goal in the future is to earn a bachelor’s degree in Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics. Currently I’m attending Long Beach City College and on track to transfer to USC for the Fall semester of 2018.

Arlene came to SSOC cosmetology class right after high school. She had some personal obstacles that gave her the determination to complete the program. After listening to a guest speaker from a make-up company, she decided to take professional make-up classes while studying for the cosmetology state board exam. After she got certified, she did her internship at different studio sets. She also worked with many well-known music industry celebrities and TV show actors. Arlene has an insatiable appetite for learning. Her next goals are to earn a barber’s license and to acquire skills in special effects/theatrical make-up. The cosmetology class she took at SSOC certainly laid the foundation for her new career path. Roxana Sanchez, cosmetology instructor, has this to say about Arlene “As her teacher I am very proud of all her achievements. Seeing a young person change into an adult and helping them to improve their future is the most rewarding feeling I can have as a teacher”.

Meet Diana Morales. Diana’s first attempts to get her high school diploma from Bell High School and then the Bell Accelerated College and Career Transition (ACCT) Program didn’t work out. Without a high school diploma in hand, she enrolled at East Los Angeles College (ELAC). While at ELAC, a counselor encouraged her to go back to complete her secondary education. When she returned to the Bell ACCT Program, Ms. Ngo, the Bell ACCT Advisor sat down with her and together they came up with a plan where she was successful in passing the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET). Since Diana had previously completed her required classes in the Bell ACCT Program, passing the HiSET was all she needed to complete her high school diploma requirements.

In June 2017, Diana took the stage as the student speaker at the Slawson Occupational Center Graduation held at the California State University, Los Angeles. Her story resonated with others in the audience. Her biggest motivation to complete her high school diploma came from her hard-working Mexican-immigrant parents who instilled in her the importance of an education. Two years later, in June 2019, Diana walked the stage once again, but this time, it was to receive her Associate of Arts degree in Sociology from East Los Angeles College. Diana is the first in her family to graduate from high school and college.