Zarina Dhillon earned eight degrees with honors from SBCC, graduated in 2020, and transferred to Claremont McKenna College where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She says, “I owe where I am today to SBCC. I realized that I found education much more rewarding than my original path, and was met with nothing but warmth, acceptance, and open arms into every subject I pursued. I will forever be grateful for my time there, and think of my many memories and stories with warmth and gratitude towards my adventure.”
Following is Zarina’s story, in her own words:
I began my journey at SBCC because I had aspirations of being a professional dancer. I accepted an offer for the Professional Track Program at State Street Ballet, which is why I moved to Santa Barbara in the first place. I decided it would be beneficial to do some college classes while I completed the program, so I enrolled in SBCC in the Fall of 2018.
From my very first semester, I knew this is the path I wanted to take. I had an extremely nonlinear background, with my focus in high school being to become a professional dancer, but the warmth and acceptance I received at SBCC allowed me with a fresh start to rebuild my life. I vividly remember my first meeting with my academic counselor, Christy Grant: she assured me that if I continued to succeed in my classes as I was doing that I could transfer to an incredible university. I walked out of that meeting with hope for my future and a fire inside of me that only kept growing.
I gradually shifted my focus from ballet, and began to take as many classes as possible. It was recommended for me to join the honors program, so I did exactly that. Spring of 2019 was a hectic semester for me, where I was choreographing for my ballet program, dancing for six hours in the morning, and enrolled in seven classes at the college in the evenings. The class that changed my life was Intro Astronomy with Erin O’Connor. I have always loved the stars, and was thrilled to learn more about them in my new environment. Professor O’Connor instantly saw potential in me, and encouraged me to take more math classes. I was apprehensive, as math was my worst subject, but I cautiously enrolled in the lowest class the college has to offer, the pre-algebra refresher. I became determined to learn as much math and science as possible now that I had the option, and kept climbing the STEM ladder. I took six classes that summer, and took another class that changed my view of the universe: the Astronomy Lab with Sean Kelly.
Having some knowledge of Dr. Kelly with my involvement as an officer of the Astronomy Club, I was so excited to absorb as much from him as possible. He hired me as a tutor after that class, and my love for the stars grew as I could share it with other students. I have to say that one of my favorite memories was seeing the lunar eclipse, Saturn, Jupiter, and a variety of other astronomical objects through a telescope with people who were just as excited as I was.
During this time I also took on the role of the President of the Transfer Scholars Club, where Tim Griggs inspired my journey into leadership. Assisting others in the transfer process was an extremely valuable skill that brought me to where I am today, where I was able to both offer advice to fellow students and learn from my position as the President. I was also asked to tutor a variety of math classes (PreCalculus, Trigonometry, Calculus I, Calculus II, and Statistics), which given my background was one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences I could have ever imagined.
I first graduated from SBCC in Fall 2019, where I received my first three degrees (Liberal Arts and Sciences, Associate in Arts (AA): Arts and Humanities Emphasis, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Associate in Arts (AA): Science and Mathematics Emphasis, and Liberal Arts and Sciences, Associate in Arts (AA): Social and Behavioral Sciences Emphasis). I was excited to keep learning and hopefully transfer in Fall 2020. Of course, as COVID hit I decided to extend my journey at SBCC, and ended up earning a total of eight degrees and both honors certificates from the college (Communication Studies, Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) Mathematics, Associate in Science (AS), Mathematics, Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T), Philosophy, Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T), Psychology, Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T), Highest Honors Certificate of Achievement: Science and Mathematics, Highest Honors Certificate of Achievement: Social Science and Humanities).
Thanks to the endless support I received at SBCC, I have done several wonderful programs, including the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) and the NSF Lamat REU: Astrophysics Research at UCSC. Currently, I’m about to start my second semester at Claremont McKenna College, where I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. I’m not entirely sure what I will end up doing, but I hope to integrate the fields of social justice with that of mathematics to bring more quantifiable equity into fields that need it most. I have found that I love finding new and clever ways to diversify STEM fields and make education more inclusive for all – if I could combine this with my love of sharing knowledge with others, it would be the perfect job for me.
I owe where I am today to SBCC. I realized that I found education much more rewarding than my original path, and was met with nothing but warmth, acceptance, and open arms into every subject I pursued. I will forever be grateful for my time there, and think of my many memories and stories with warmth and gratitude towards my adventure.
