Walking onto the Las Positas College campus is an exciting experience for many first-time students, and more students than have been recorded for 10 years have entered the school this semester.
“As of today, our fill rate for the college is 96.05% which is the highest that it’s been over the last 10 years,” college president Dr. Dyrell Foster said in an interview with The Express on Aug. 26.
But what if it wasn’t your first time? Community colleges are places of opportunity, and often the first step in one’s transition to adulthood. But attending a two-year institution being one’s “first step” in college isn’t always the case.
The demand for higher degrees of education in order to obtain higher positions in an increasingly competitive job market has pushed college-educated students to return to school. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26% of recent recipients of bachelor’s degree ages 20 to 29 were enrolled in school again. Of those students, 12.3% were unemployed — a full 3.7% higher than the previous year. Students who graduated with a master’s degree, however, only saw 6.8% unemployment.
Graphic by Mel Llamas/ The Express
For many jobs which provide life-sustaining earnings, a bachelor’s degree is the bare minimum. Soft skills, hard skills and anything worthy of adding to a resume are highly sought after in potential job candidates. At the same time, in an economy which forces many to have a side hustle or second job, additional skills are especially useful.
Timothy Guan and Inna Golubchik are students enrolled at LPC after having graduated from four-year universities — they’re back for a second shot at education. They shared their stories of triumphs, failures and what they learned from their past to make the most of their second chance at the college experience.
LPC strives to be a welcoming community that works to meet you where you are in life, according to the two returning students.The school offers a wide range of options and resources available to help them on the path to success. This is how these two students are using LPC to better themselves and pursue fulfilling successful careers.
Timothy Guan, age 25, first began his journey at LPC in 2017 before he transferred to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he graduated with a degree in applied mathematics. During his time at UCSB, he also minored in music. Since graduating, Guan has spent months applying for jobs and having no luck.
“It’s very difficult, especially if you’re trying to get into tech, which is just an oversaturated market right now,” Guan said.
Another contributing factor in the difficulty of finding a job, especially at the entry-level, could be attributed to the rise of AI usage. According to McKinsey Global Institute, workers in lower-paying jobs tend to require additional skills. This comes as a result of this job demographic being 14 times more likely than those in higher-wage positions to need to change occupations.
Guan took this into consideration post-graduation.
“It’s just difficult to find work, so what can I do in the meantime? Well, I can take some extra courses at LPC, improve my skills,” the returning math major said. “And also pursue my dreams at, uh, becoming a musician.”
Currently, Guan is enrolled full time at LPC. He’s taking multiple music classes, including music theory and jazz improv. He hopes to complete the courses needed to transfer within a year and attend a music conservatory either in Southern California or in Boston.
Similarly, Golubchik has returned to school in order to broaden and develop her professional skills. Golubchik graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in marketing. However, she felt there was more exploration that she could do within her field.
“I kind of am still figuring out what I want to do in my career,” Golubchik said. “So, graphic design is something I’ve always been interested in and Las Po makes it very easy to just take some classes and kind of figure out if I like it.”
Graphic by Mel Llamas/ The Express
Golubchik is not taking classes full-time. She is currently only enrolled in a single class, while also working at the local fitness club Orangetheory as a social media marketer. It has given her the opportunity to not only use her degree from Oregon but also begin exploring her interest in graphic design.
According to Golubchik, the most challenging part of returning to school has been time management. Since returning, she has gone from working full time to only part time.
Currently, she is unsure about how long she will be staying at LPC as she evaluates whether pursuing a certificate in graphic design is the right path for her. However, one of the positives of returning to school is being able to experience life on campus.
Her first time at college was in 2019 during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Like many students who attended school during this time, she was unable to participate in the full college experience due to the shift to online classes to reduce the spread of the virus.
“I definitely missed being in school, like in-person classes. It’s a lot different just being online. I was living at home, so, not experiencing much of the social aspect.”
Although she is not full time or living on campus at LPC, Golubchik is getting a piece of the college experience which the COVID-19 lockdown kept from her. She and Guan are two of many returning college graduates attending LPC this semester. Whether they returned to pursue a personal dream or expand their skills for a better career, they’re gratified to be surrounded by other students looking to better themselves.
Top photo: Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in the US (Graphic by Mel Llamas/ The Express)
Mel Llamas is a staff writer for The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @MM_Llamas
