Second-year student Zora Williams is using her voice to bring more mental health and nutrition programming to San Diego Mesa College. Williams was elected president of the college’s Associated Students (AS) for the 2024-2025 academic year and serves as the college’s student representative on the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.
Sometimes, you hear a story that makes you want to know more. Kevin Gonzalez has such a story. The last time this story was updated, San Diego Mesa College student Kevin Gonzalez was a 15 year-old heading off to Massachusetts to complete his high school education. In the ensuing years, he has travelled to the other side of the world, built houses, but remained in close contact with his Mesa College professors and connections he made while on campus.
The San Diego Community College District has appointed four new student trustees for the upcoming academic year. Dalia Ramirez (San Diego City College), Zora Williams (San Diego Mesa College), Hailey Hua (San Diego Miramar College), and Haydee Zuniga (San Diego College of Continuing Education), will be sworn in during the June 20 SDCCD Board of Trustees meeting.
May 27, 2021
How Former DSPS Student Nikolai Kestler Persevered at Mesa
In reminiscing on his time as a student at Mesa College, new graduate Nikolai Kestler recalls the words of Dr. Martin Luther King as fuel for his determination.
“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward,” he quotes.
For Kestler, King’s words uplift the struggles he, and many other students experience when furthering their education. While attending college and earning an associate degree are challenging feats during a regular school year, this year required students’ unprecedented resilience and adjustment per the changing conditions of a global pandemic.
Kestler is no stranger to rolling with the punches though. As a former Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) student, he has learned the importance of advocating for himself to create the educational environment most conducive to his success. While the compounding effects of a pandemic and navigating college with a disability had the potential to prove isolating at times, Kestler found crucial support from Mesa College’s DSPS counselors.
Mesa College’s DSPS Department helps students like Kestler as they access the equitable resources and support they need during their time at community college. Accommodations and services vary depending on students’ verified disabilities and counselors’ determinations, and may range from priority registration, to test proctoring, tutoring, note-taking assistance, access to adaptive computer software, and more.
With the help of his DSPS counselors, Kestler found the classes he needed to take to earn his associate degree and received strengths-based guidance that enabled him to progress toward his educational goals. Ultimately, DSPS helped Kestler keep his college and career plans in motion so he could maintain his forward-looking mindset.
After graduating with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Social and Behavioral Sciences with a Child Development concentration this spring, Kestler is on his way to transfer and attend San Diego State University in the fall. Kestler describes his efforts as cumulative; his decision to take a single class at Mesa College eventually amounted to his degree. As he prepares to continue his education, Kestler is ready to embark on a new chapter where he continues to tailor his education to his learning style and move incrementally toward his future career.
“Life just keeps moving forward and so should you,” Kestler says.
Kestler’s message of hope recognizes the difficulties of persevering toward his goals. However, with the support of student services, such as those in the DSPS Department, fortifying his resilience, Kestler can more readily view his education as a gateway to opportunity.
Learn more about DSPS at Mesa College and the accommodations and services available to students with disabilities.
Tags: Alumni, DSPS, MLK, Nikolai Kestler
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
On Monday, March 11, Mesa Dramatic Arts majors were thrilled when five Mesa College alumni came to speak with current students about their journey in the performing arts thus far. The panel, titled Life Post Mesa in the Performing Arts: Transfer and more, was organized by Drama Professor George Ye’. He explained that he wanted to show current students a “cross section of people with different pathways.”
San Diego Mesa College Alumnus Mario Romero made history as part of a team from Intuitive Machines’ whose uncrewed lander made history Thursday as the first privately owned spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface. It was also the first U.S. vehicle to accomplish this in more than 50 years. After four years of preparations, the company’s 14-foot-tall Nova-C lander navigated to a spot near the moon’s South Pole. It was the 24th mission to softly land on the moon since 1966. And with it comes a new era of exploration.
The DSPS Alumni at Work series reconnects with former SDCCD students who utilized Disability Support Programs and Services to help them navigate their journey from college to career. Today, we are excited to shine a spotlight on San Diego Mesa College graduate Taylor Carpenter.
