National Conference Empowers KCC Students, One Earns Top Scholarship

KLAMATH FALLS — Six Klamath Community College students got a taste for what leadership entails, and, at the same time, learned valuable lessons about their own abilities at a recent national conference. For most, it was an eye-opening experience that has given them confidence to move forward with their education.

And one student, Deseray Cerrillo-Hernandez, received one of two scholarships offered at the event, besting 67 other applicants.

The group, along with KCC’s U.S. Department of Education TRiO Student Support Services Program Director Hailie Mentz, received funding from the college and other sources to travel to California State University in Los Angeles to attend the national Circle of Change Leadership Conference Nov. 21-23. The group comprised TRiO students, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission First-Generation Student Success Grant Program participants, and other students.

The energy of the conference caught the students off guard, they said during a roundtable interview with four of the six which included Cerrillo-Hernandez, Chris Mercado, Evangeline Daisog, and Rebecca Hedges. The other two conference attendees were KCC students Justin Fields and Korina Hildebrand. “I liked the fact that you got to meet with a group of professionals who were at the top of their league, in the top of their career field,” student Chris Mercado said. “Being able to pick their brains, being able to just converse with them and understand what it takes to get to that level.” Mercado is seeking an Associates in Applied Science with an end goal of becoming a veterinarian.

“The event really got you out of your comfort zone,” Cerrillo-Hernandez said. “I can already say I’m a more confident person. I am a lot more outspoken,” she said.

“Before this trip, I was very quiet, very shy. I didn’t really want to speak up,”  said the single mom, who is studying Health Information Management. “It was life-changing. Prior to this, I had never been out of Klamath Falls, never been on an airplane. The experience went way beyond what I was expecting.” Evangeline Daisog is a first-generation student born in Klamath Falls, whose parents came to the U.S. from the Philippines.

“They never went to school fully or graduated from high school, let alone college. So, they really pushed me to go to school and to go to this leadership conference,” Daisog said. She is studying to do marine biology. One of the favorite ice-breakers at the conference was a board-breaking experience. On one side of the board, students wrote what fears were holding them back and on the other, where they wanted to be in life.

“We literally broke through the boards with a karate chop,” said Rebecca Hedges, a TRiO peer mentor. “It was the most fun part.”

Hedges also had a complicated road to higher education.

“I’m 33 and grew up in a kind of sheltered home, moving around a lot in Washington and Oregon. I did pretty well in school, but I chose not to go to college right away and opted to become a school bus driver,” she said. After nine years and her father’s death, Hedges enrolled at KCC and is now studying geomatics — the storage and presentation of geographic data. She plans to apply to Oregon Institute of Technology to continue her degree.

The Circle of Change is a national leadership and career development experience designed to prepare traditional, non-traditional, and first-generation students for lifelong success in college and beyond.

“I’ve always kind of felt like I was a leader, or I had the value of being a leader, but I just wasn’t really stepping into that position,” Cerrillo-Hernandez said. “I figured out on the trip that I have impostor syndrome, and that’s kind of like where you’re you know what you’re doing, but you’re constantly seeking validation from everybody else. And so, I realized through this trip that I really need to stop seeking validation from other people to do what I need to do.”

“I think that the whole experience was just empowering,” Mercado said. “Overall, I’ve been through a lot through my own experiences, so I’ve tried to find routes to find motivation, find things to empower myself, to better myself, and to be encouraged to continue forward. This conference really helped change my mindset and get back on track.”

For Hedges, the Circle of Change provided clarity.

“What stuck for me was having courageous faith; to act despite fear and insecurity. It will help you create a team of people to help you with that, and find your values of leadership, your creativity, your resilience. It’s like finding your specific edge.”

For more information about KCC and its programs, visit www.klamathcc.edu.  

What is a first-generation student?

• The Department of Education defines the term ‘‘first-generation college student’’ as an individual both of whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree; or
• In the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, an Individual whose only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree.

• Often the first in their immediate family to navigate college systems, processes and expectations.
• May have limited access to family guidance about college, financial aid, or academic planning.
• Often experience impostor syndrome, the feeling that they don’t truly belong in college or are “faking it.”
• This can look like self-doubt, downplaying achievements, or believing others are more prepared or
  deserving.
• Students may hesitate to ask for help because they worry it will “prove” they don’t belong.
• Impostor feelings can increase stress, but with support, community, and guidance, students learn
  they are capable and deserving of being in college.

Benefits of Being a First-Generation student

• Access to TRIO programs, academic coaching, tutoring, and personalized advice.
• Increased eligibility for scholarships and grants designed specifically for first-generation students.
• Support networks like first-gen student clubs, mentorship programs, and dedicated campus events.
• Recognition and visibility during events such as National First-Generation College Celebration Day (Nov. 8).
• Opportunity to build generational change by being the first to earn a degree in the family.