Transferring from Community College in the Middle of a Pandemic

27May
by Miquitzli Herrera

The pandemic has shifted learning as we know it. The difficulties of transitioning to a virtual classroom in the midst of struggling to understand how quickly COVID spread across the world has been difficult. As a recent transfer student from community college to a 4-year institution, the transition has been tough. During the pandemic, I was accepted to a university and was feeling lots of excitement wrapping up my last semester at East Los Angeles College. 

But little did I know that once we transitioned online, I’d be missing out on so much. Being someone who thrived off of group studying, engagement in the classroom, and social interaction from being on campus — my whole reality changed overnight. I didn’t even get to walk across the graduation stage and celebrate such a huge accomplishment with my family and friends. 

I then transitioned to University of California Riverside virtually, without meeting anyone. I found support and similar sentiments with other transfers through a Facebook group. Being a transfer student is extremely difficult; you go through a quick transition to a new environment and have to adapt to the school culture. I felt lost when school started. Due to a clerical error with my transcripts, I missed orientation, had a late enrollment, and felt completely disconnected. My experience of joining the campus was robbed. I still don’t even have my student ID. 

Being a student accustomed to the 15 week semester, I transitioned to a 10 week quarter with little support on how quickly the time would go. My first quarter of school I faced difficulties learning the software of my college campus, having to make connections with professors, and getting used to the scheduling and pacing of my coursework. The online learning environment has been an entirely new experience. Most people log on to Zoom, cameras off, black boxes taking over the screen. Not ideal. After experiencing the difficulties of virtual learning, I made it a point to dedicate myself to campus engagement. I researched different organizations to join and slowly developed my community. 

Now a year later, I am involved on campus with several organizations supporting me in my academic career. With the support of my sisters in the Sigma Kappa – Theta Epsilon chapter, the UCR mentor collective, and the Transfer-Nontraditional Committee, I feel that I will be entering the upcoming year ready to take full advantage of what the campus has to offer. Despite many difficulties, being in a virtual community has shown to be beneficial in some ways I never would have imagined. This year has pushed us to limits we didn’t know we had; it’s brought a new resiliency to our society. It’s forced many of us to grieve and begin living in a new intentional way.

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Miquitzli Herrera

Miquitzli Herrera is currently a student at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) with an intended major in Sociology and is scheduled to transfer to a four year University by 2020. She is a graduate from the Alliance College-Ready Charter High School ESAT in Los Angeles, CA. Miquitzli’s educational experience is unique in that she attended both private and charter schools during her K-12 years. Throughout her high school career, Miquitzli’s participation in programs like the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Program, UCLA Saturday Business Academy, and NCLR Lideres Summit allowed her to gain experience and skills to be able to apply in her academic career. In her short time at ELAC, she has been actively involved in clubs and organizations like the Sociology Club and Delloro Social Justice Program with an intention of building community and social awareness. In addition to being involved on campus, Miquitzli has been involved in her community for years by volunteering on political campaigns. She worked on campaigns that helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008 and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo in 2017. With the help and guidance from former counselors and current advisors, Miquitzli is working to transfer to UCLA or UC Berkeley.

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