Summer — 2005

Damaris Castro

Associated Students

“The help is always there for you if you want it. But you have to get involved in all the activities and clubs that SMC has to offer. It just makes you concentrate more, and you’ll also have more fun at the same time.”

You live in Los Angeles, right? You’re bilingual, right? No? And why not? For countless people like Damaris Castro, speaking at least two languages is not an option; it’s required. “I was born in Mexico City, but my family moved here when I was really young. So the English language was never really a problem for me because we always spoke both languages at home. And I think this is a great advantage in the city where we live.” That old buzzword, ‘diversity’, is what Damaris loves most about living in LA. But it’s also what she finds most helpful about SMC’s faculty.

“I just met Dr. Gloria Lopez, who’s Coordinator of Health Service at SMC, and I feel she’s really going to help me with my entry into the Nursing program,” says Damaris. “From what I know of her so far, she can understand where I come from: an independent student, making it on my own, and looking for a really good future. And there’s also Jaime Cruz, who teaches History 43, which is Mexican/American history. Even though I was born in Mexico, there’s a ton of history there that I don’t know anything about. So Jaime is helping me to feel a real connection to my home country.”

With her sights set on an eventual transfer to UCLA’s Nursing program, Damaris reports, “SMC has been a place of very high quality for me. I’ve grown up a lot and become much more responsible, which I’m proud of.” But Damaris has actually sought out responsibility as well. “I’m gonna be the commissioner for the AS Director of Student Activities, and then maybe become the director myself. And if you get involved with programs like this,” she continues, “it makes your education go better, faster, and a whole lot more fun.”

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