Shawnalee Johnson
My name is Shawnalee Johnson or go by Shawna.
My educational goals are to become a school age teacher working with school age children or work with special needs children. I enjoy working with both.
Did your disability ever defer you from wanting to attend college before you received ACCESS services?
Yes in many ways, my disability has and I always have struggled in school with my teachers because I never got the help like I do now here at BCC. BCC has been the greatest accomplishment I have had and will always be grateful for all the staff that has helped me here!
How has ACCESS assisted you to be successful as a student at Barstow community College?
They have helped me by job assistance, extra test time for my finals or tests I may have in the classes I am enrolled in. This greatly helps me because I know that I am not alone in finding a job and it's easy to talk to someone who guides me every day by showing me what to look for and how to prepare myself for an interview or update my resume. Also I had help with test accommodations. It has been really helpful to have extra test time because I will not feel rushed and I could enjoy the time that is given to me, I could go back on a question I did not understand or double-check I have all the questions completed. I appreciate ACCESS very much for all of these wonderful things!
I thank ACCESS every day and I am finally obtaining my AA degree in Child Development, praying to graduate May 2023. Without ACCESS, I wouldn't be able to pursue my teaching career which I love doing!
Brandi Wallis
What are your educational goals?
My education goal is to finish my classes and then look for employment but not right away because I will be taking a break after graduation. I am graduating from Barstow Community College next year in May.
Did your disability ever defer you from wanting to attend college before you received ACCESS services?
Yes, because the other schools that I looked at were not helping me at all. But when I came to Barstow College, they have helped me since day one. There have been times that I just wanted to quit college and just give up, but the Access program kept cheering me on and walked every step of the way with me and I appreciated that a lot.
How has ACCESS assisted you to be successful as a student at Barstow community College?
Access has assisted me by pushing me to the end and they never gave up and they showed me to never give up especially when things get hard. They have assisted me with my mental health when I have faced tough times. Now I am going to graduate from school and that is because I had my dad, I had Counselor Edward and all the access staff and myself that has pushed me for this day, and I am so grateful.
Eva Perez
What are your educational goals? My Education goals is to graduate and become a guidance Counselor for Special Needs Children and People, since I’ve been through it, I know how hard it is and want to help them in reaching their own goals, be it dance or counselor, teacher whatever they choose.
Did your disability ever defer you from wanting to attend college before you received ACCESS services? No, because personally I have been wanting to expand my education rather than staying at home and watching TV and playing video games. I just wanted to go further in my education and never thought about my disability getting in the way!
How has ACCESS assisted you to be successful as a student at Barstow community College?
ACCESS has helped me in understanding what my instructors are trying to communicate – because the talk really fast or type really fast. With the digital records, the scribes and note takers they helped me understand what was said. The extended testing time helped me out allot as well.
Hector Hernandez
My name is Hector Hernandez. I have been a student at Barstow Community since 2020 and it has been the best decision I have made. See, I suffered major brain trauma in 2018. At the time, I was not sure how I could improve my medical outlook going forward. I had a good idea of how to improve my physical disabilities but how to improve my brain was a challenge all on its own. Not knowing if I could learn effectively, I knew this endeavor would require a special kind of school, and more importantly, staff that was responsive to my specific needs. I researched bigger schools but found Barstow Community an inviting place, small enough to get around, filled with kind people at every corner of campus; all striving to assist in every way possible to make goals achievable. The ACCESS program helped me find my way. Since my humble beginnings at Barstow Community, I graduated in May 2022, Summa Cum Laude in Logistics and Warehousing, and was accepted to the University of the Pacific, Stockton California. My efforts, I owe to the strength of Christ, who led me here, and to this wonderful institution of learning.
