By Marissa Valles
Former East Los Angeles College student and current transfer mentor Bianca Trevizo empowers students who come from underprivileged communities and helps them further their education.
Trevizo knows all too well how challenging and overwhelming the transfer process can be.
Trevizo currently works as a mentor at the Transfer Center. Before she began working at the Transfer Center, she was a student at ELAC.
“I attended East Los Angeles College from 2017-2019, earned my Associates of Arts for Transfer in English, and then transferred to UCLA as an English major,” Trevizo said.
However, this did not come without challenges. For Trevizo, one of the biggest challenges with transferring was finding the time to complete the transfer application.
“I applied to multiple systems — CSUs, UCs and privates. This meant I had to keep track of 3 separate applications and essays on top of my ELAC schoolwork,” Trevizo said.
Trevizo also worked part-time which made things more difficult.
“Sometimes I would come to the Transfer Center straight after work or class to make sure I complete applications in time,” Trevizo said.
Trevizo’s perseverance paid off and she graduated from UCLA in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in education. She is currently earning her Master’s degree in education from USC.
She came back to ELAC as a Transfer Mentor because she said it’s important to help students from communities where isn’t typical their education.
“I wanted to work in the Transfer Center because I wanted to help bridge the gap of knowledge between students and their long-term goals.
“As someone that comes from a marginalized and underrepresented background, I want to empower community college students to pursue a higher education beyond ELAC,” Trevizo said.
Many students at ELAC are the first in their family to obtain higher education and not being able to turn to family members for help when transferring can make the process difficult.
This is where the Transfer Center can help . The Transfer Center offers students help in a variety of ways, ranging from hosting workshops with information about CSUs and UCs to one-on-one application assistance.
As a transfer mentor, Trevizo makes sure that students receive the help they need.
“By visiting the Transfer Center, students have access to counselors, mentors and immediate transfer application assistance.
“We highly recommend students visit us in the center if they are thinking about or planning to transfer.
“We want to make sure they are exploring different universities, are on track with their courses and know how to navigate transfer applications correctly,” Trevizo said.
The transfer application for CSUs and UCs is currently open until November 30.
Students can visit the Transfer Center located in D7 for help with the transfer process.
The Transfer Center is open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Mondays through Wednesdays and 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays. The Transfer Center is also available over the phone at (323)-265-8623.