My name is Juliana Lopez Ceja. I am a full time student at Everett Community College. I work as an office assistant for my father’s drywall company. I decided to attend EvCC because it was affordable and close to home.
I also heard a lot of good things about EvCC, especially from my friends. I want to get my Bachelor’s degree in business administration. I am still debating whether to transfer to a university. My dream university is the University of Washington.
I think tuition is expensive, especially for community college. The materials, books, and fees add up to the cost of community college. I applied for FAFSA as a senior in high school, but didn’t qualify. They told me my father made too much money for me to be eligible for financial aid. Ever since then, I have paid out of pocket for all my college expenses. I haven’t applied again because I feel like it will be the same situation again. Being a daughter of immigrant parents, it is hard to have them support me financially and it is sometimes hard for them to qualify for other financial help. I think guaranteeing the first two years of college for CTC students would impact students positively. It would give students more motivation to finish college and they would be able to take more classes per quarter. There would also be more diversity on campus because financial barriers would be removed. This would also create a more welcoming environment in colleges.
Juliana Lopez Ceja, Marysville