Dear California Community Colleges:
My introduction to you happened in the late 1990s.
I arrived in Los Angeles, a foreign graduate student, trying to understand America through textbooks and LA’s RTD routes.
And then I met you.
An institution built on virtues I could not quite comprehend.
Infinite hope.
Untiring patience.
Radical non-judgment.
You met people where they were.
Not where they should have been.
Not where someone thought they ought to be.
But where they were.
You were born long before I met you in the Central Valley, where community colleges first took root in California soil.
Practical. Accessible. Close to home. Built for possibility.
And then you spread.
From the Central Valley – Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced
you reached into the Inland Empire – Riverside, San Bernardino
out to the eastern edge of our state – the Coachella Valley, Palm Desert, Indio
up the North State – Chico, Redding
across the Bay – Oakland, Hayward, San José
down the Central Coast – Monterey, San Luis Obispo
into Los Angeles – every corner, every neighborhood in LA
and all the way to the borderlands – San Diego, Imperial Valley.
Across the Sierra foothills.
Along Highway 99.
Down the 5 and the 101.
Into farmworker towns.
Into port cities.
Into rural mountain communities.
Into urban corridors.
Where opportunity needed a doorway you became that doorway.
You evolved.
You empowered people.
You improved constantly
You innovated for students.
You added programs.
Added pathways.
Added chances.
And over three decades, I have watched you love Californians by taking action in real tangible ways.
I have seen the foster youth who carried everything they owned in a backpack walk across a commencement stage because someone at a community college refused to give up on them.
I have seen the formerly incarcerated Californian who found purpose through education, completed a certificate, earned a degree, and now gives back to their community.
I have seen the veteran, resilient, carrying both visible and invisible weight, find a Veterans Resource Center and a faculty member who said, “You belong here.”
I have seen the student with a disability navigate hallways that were once barriers and find accommodations, allies, and a future not defined by limitation but by capacity.
You do not ask for perfection.
You ask for effort.
You do not require pedigree.
You require courage.
Over two million students a year.
Two million stories of trying again.
Starting over. Leveling up.
You are accessible.
You are practical.
You are relentless in your belief that Californians deserve more.
On this Valentine’s Day, I say it plainly:
I love you, California Community Colleges,
– for your open doors.
– for your stubborn optimism.
– for believing in people before they believe in themselves.
You are California at its best.
And after three decades of watching you in motion … through reform, recession, innovation, and renewal,
I am convinced of this:
If there is an institution built on hope in America,
It is you!
With gratitude, admiration, and love
Your chancellor,
sonya
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This is a wonderful love letter to all community colleges, but to California above all. After 40 years at Bakersfield College, I could not agree more.
Greg Goodwin
Happy to see your comment Greg. And Bakersfield College, in particular, is a very special place.
Truer words were never spoken with such love, passion and commitment to a concept that serves so many people. People who are broken, people who are forsaken all have found and will find new beginnings through the community colleges of the US of A! Thank you for your dedication, may you keep on keeping
Thank you for your beautiful reflection, Parvathy. It makes me think of Amanda Gorman’s words:
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
That is what community colleges do every single day.
Help students see the light … sometimes when it feels very far away.
And then help them become it.
Beautifully written! Thank you for sharing your passion for this institution of hope and possibilities and for leading us in such a time as this. Blessings!
Thank you Nick for taking time to post a note.
Nice to see you still leading.
Sue V
Perfect and brilliant! Community Colleges deserve the love!
This was beautiful! I, personally, had some disappointing experiences with CA Community Colleges – and as a grant-reader. I do think there are efficiencies and organizational improvements that could be made to reach even further. Thank you for your leadership!
Beautiful words to live by!
Dr. Tommy W. Tunson
Professor of Criminal Justice
African American Initiatives (AAI) Faculty Lead
Pre-Law Club Faculty Advisor
Bakersfield College
[…] Here is the link if you would like to take 3 minutes to read it again. https://sonyachristianblog.com/2026/02/14/a-love-letter-to-the-california-community-colleges-on-vale… […]
[…] Since we are sill in the month of February, let me re-post my Valentine’s Day message from two weeks ago. Take 3 minutes to read it again and enjoy our California Community Colleges. https://sonyachristianblog.com/2026/02/14/a-love-letter-to-the-california-community-colleges-on-vale… […]