Achiever Stories

Laura Ochoa

Surrounded by strawberry and row-crop farms, Oxnard is the largest city in Ventura County, CA and the gateway to Channel Island National Park.  It is also the home of Laura Ochoa. 

Laura was not so different from other Upward Bounders living in the area.  She had dreams of going to college, but she didn’t know how to manage her jam-packed days, the jobs she held since turning 14, school, and activities.  She had to always stay busy and that characterized her play on the soccer field and the way she addressed every other aspect of her life.

She also had the normal amount of setbacks.  “I ran for class president twice and lost both times.”

College was a distant vision.  The Upward Bound program at California Lutheran University eventually changed that.

“When the college acceptance letters started coming in during my senior year, my parents told me that they had no money to send me away to school.  With anger and resentment for my parents, I just knew I could not go to school.”

That was not an acceptable attitude for the Cal Lutheran Upward Bound staff.  “Thanks to Oscar Cobian and Diva Ward for putting the pressure on, and making it no choice but to attend college.  Most importantly, they made me believe in myself; they were a reliable resource for making it happen.”

Laura started at Ventura College.  “I attended the local JC in a hell fire hurry to get out of there and move far away from home.  I made my way to Chico State.”

While at Chico, Laura tutored for Upward Bound. “Laura is a breath of fresh air with a wonderful sense of humor,”remembers Roxie Downie, Chico Upward Bound administrative assistant.  “Participants have stated that she is a great motivator and they can confide in her and say almost anything, except bad words.”

After a year at Chico, she moved back home and reiurned to Ventura College.

“I learned that results don't always come out the way you want, when you want them to, and that sometimes it’s not the parents responsibility to make something happen. I found it was up to me to fund my way through school and work and make the grades, because mom and dad were not there to guide me all the way.  Since they themselves had no college experience, it made things difficult to do on my own.”

Laura transferred to San Diego State University where she made the dean’s list, and she was accepted into the McNair Scholars Program.  She recently received the Sylvia Chavez Memorial Scholarship for Hispanic undergraduates involved in their communities and school.  She is on course to graduate next year before starting her graduate program in school counseling. 

She manages her time better, though her days are still full of studying, community service, working in an after-school program for at-risk youth, and conducting research for a professor regarding youth offenders and their progress in their communities.

“I have never managed to lose my ambitiousness, and I’ll never settle for less.  But I appreciate where I am and what programs like Upward Bound and McNair have done for me.  Making my dreams of going to college and doing my best a real life possibility, I would not be able to do this without their support or my parents.”

Three WESTOP programs have influenced Laura’s progress toward her goal, and each has been blessed by knowing her.

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Read about other achievers Erlinda Ulloa, Jose Ronstadt, Ned Doffoney, Heather Morrison, Blanca Escobar, Christopher Harrison, Wendy Sanchez, Hazel Amina, Sunshine Lawson, Jennifer Dyke, Laura Ochoa, and Michael Christiansen.

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If you have a story about a participant or staff achiever, send it to Dave Ferguson. The person does not have to be nominated for the WESTOP Achievers Award. He or she is a person, in your eyes, whose story is inspirational. Afterall, if we don't tell the stories of our participants and staff, who will?

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