Hello my name is Marisol Aguilar and I am the counselor for the LINC program
at Cerritos College. LINC stands for Leaders Involved in Creating change.
Our program’s goal is to provide holistic services to support current and former foster youth with
their academic and career goals. Through campus and community partnerships, we seek to facilitate
access to resources and opportunities that will enhance our students’ growth and success. We offer
various services such as priority registration, academic, career and personal counseling, book
vouchers, tutoring, emergency funds, assistance with securing housing and food resources,
workshops, and so much more. To join our program, the student needs to have been in
foster care after the age of 13, be enrolled in at least 3 units, and be 16 years of age or older.
If the student answers yes to all of these questions, they are able to submit an interest
form through our website which allows us to reach out to the student for a welcome appointment.
Hi my name is Kimberly Diaz. I'm majoring in sociology. I'm a single mom of two. My
motivation is to give my kids a better future. I spent most of my life in foster care.
My goal is to become a social worker. I joined linc because my sisters and my brother
talked highly about the program. As I joined the counselors have helped me in so many ways.
They have provided resources not only for school but my personal life like therapy, child care,
divorece and finacle help. If it wasn't for them I strongly feel I would not have succeeded
the way I have. They have pushed me to keep going as my personal life has been very hard.
They understood my situation and worked with me every step of the way.
Hello, my name is France and I attend Cerritos College majoring as a Dental Hygienist.
At first, coming to college was a little scary and challenging, especially as a foster youth student,
I asked myself many questions …what I wanted to be? How would I be successful in this
new environment? or How would I even get to school? But as I attended Cerritos I learned
about the LINC Program through a counselor and how it is tailored to current and former foster youth
students in college. In many ways, LINC has a big role in my academic journey and as I look back
LINC had and is still providing me with financial support such as bus passes,
uber cars, and meal cards. But that is not what only makes this program amazing it is the
hard-working counselors like Marisol who helped and understood my struggles and achievements
as a foster youth. My challenges started to fade because of these resources.
Hello, my name is Stephanie. I'm actually a Cerritos College graduate. I got my degree in
Sociology for Transfer. I currently attend Cal State LA to get my Bachelor's in social work.
I'm a first generation student and the first to graduate college in my family. Joining LINC,
I didn't expect to gain so much knowledge about myself and resources. LINC provided me
with guidance to complete my degree within the two years that I wanted to. Most importantly,
they provided the best workshops. Workshops about school and mental health. We had workshops
that were about credit report, food recipes, self-care tips, and just so much more. I know
LINC will continue to inspire and push each one of us to succeed. LINC always has fun activities and
special events that always brings us together. If you are thinking about joining LINC, I would
say do it, because you gain so much from this program, and every single counselor and staff put
in so much work for us to have a great experience off and on campus. And for those who are thinking
about joining, LINC is here to support your successes, and is there to lend a hand. We
hope you join us soon to help guide you throughout your educational journey here at Cerritos College.