The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FoundationCCC), in partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, is showcasing the impact of peer-to-peer support through a new film series centered on current and former foster youth at Los Angeles City College (LACC). The series follows students in the California Community Colleges (CCC) Student Ambassador Program as they help their peers navigate the challenges of college and life.

Supported by a Foster Youth Initiative grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, FoundationCCC is expanding opportunities for Los Angeles County community college students from vulnerable populations, including current and former foster youth, opportunity youth (young adults ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from school and employment), LGBTQ+ students, and first-generation college students. 

At LACC, every selected ambassador came from the Guardian Scholars Program, which supports transition-age and former foster youth pursuing higher education. For these students, college often means juggling full-time work, parenting responsibilities, and rising living costs, often without a stable support network. Over the next two years, CCC Student Ambassadors will receive stipends and professional development opportunities while connecting thousands of fellow students with similar experiences to essential resources, including basic needs support, wellness services, academic assistance, and community programs. 

“We’ve had so many students who have overcome things that the average person would never be able to get through,” said Christina Espinoza-Guzman, Basic Needs Counselor at LACC. “The resilience and the grit is really inspiring to hear.”

Espinoza-Guzman emphasized the importance of representation and peer connection in helping foster youth succeed.

“You’re not providing additional or supplemental support, you’re filling in where there is no support,” she said. “Seeing someone who looks like you, who comes from a similar background and is successful, is powerful.”

Student Ambassador Michael O., a pre-med Biology and Spanish major at LACC, shared how his lived experience allows him to connect authentically with fellow students.

“The best part of this is the relatability,” Michael said. “I am a student doing things for students. People see themselves through my ambassador work and think, ‘He’s like us. He’s one of us.’”

Since launching in 2018, the CCC Student Ambassador Program has trained more than 768 ambassadors and facilitated more than 1.6 million student connections statewide. Through these efforts, ambassadors continue advancing the goals of the California Community Colleges’ Vision 2030 and helping students persist through financial hardship, housing insecurity, food insecurity, and other barriers to success.

To learn more about the California Community Colleges Student Ambassador Program, visit the program page.
https://foundationccc.org/our-work/equity/california-community-colleges-student-ambassador-program/