September 19, 2008

Learning leads to academic success for Lorena Lechuga

She couldn’t believe it! The first “A” Lorena Lechuga ever received at Evergreen Valley College was in her Mexican American History class. She enjoyed learning about her Mexican forebearers so much, she enrolled in Enlace classes and her grades just got better and better. Before she knew it, she was an Instructional Assistant for Environmental Science classes and the founder of a now-thriving club called SACNAS, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Evergreen Valley College students attend the national SACNAS conference in Kansas City last year. SACNAS was founded by Lorena Lechuga.

Today she’s a University of Santa Cruz graduate and majored in both Environmental Studies and Economics. “Me? A science major? In Mexico, education was not an option for my mom, but in San Jose she learned English and was able to optain an education. She showed us by example that you can always learn,” says Lorena, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “I never thought my grades would be good enough to go to a UC.”

After graduating from Independence High School, Lorena worked full time at a bank for a year and a half, becoming more and more withdrawn. One day, she signed up for the Mexican American History class at EVC. After that, she was hooked.

One of her professors encouraged her to start the SACNAS chapter at EVC to encourage students interested in math and science to network with each other and find advisors, scholarships and support. SACNAS is a national organization, but there were no chapters at the community college level in the Bay Area. Lorena talked to the national SACNAS office, drafted the EVC constitution standards and recruited students. This year, the EVC chapter took the initiative to organize a highly successful conference for 100 high school students on the campus. “I never knew it would get that big someday!” Lorena says.

Because of her many accomplishments at EVC, Lorena was awarded one of 12 Pister Leadership Opportunity Awards, receiving $20,000 towards her UCSC tuition and assistance finding summer work experience in a field that complemented her studies. “I owe my free education to EVC and to Enlace,” she states, citing the academic program that serves underrepresented Chicano/Latino students of San Jose and nearby communities. “Enlace informed me about the scholarship. They even proofread my papers and gave me a mock interview so that I could be prepared for the real interview.”

While at UCSC, she completed an environmental internship in Washington State for two quarters, which involved research and a thesis. She loved it so much, she’s thinking of doing a Masters Program in Environmental Science!