By John Rooks

Far too often we hear about the cost of higher education and the fiscal impact on our state budget. What gets lost in all the numbers and wrangling over our collective commitment to educating the next generation at a reasonable cost are the personal stories and impacts on the individuals in the system.

I am one of those individuals. I left high school having only completed 10 years of schooling. I joined the Army and served abroad. While I loved serving my country, I knew I needed to leave the military when I returned from deployment and my young daughter barely recognized me and cried when I held her.

I left the military honorably with the hopes of starting over and being able to spend more time with my daughter. I quickly fell into the restaurant business, but once again I was gone, working 10- to 11-hour days. I wanted my now two children to know their father. I wanted to be able to have dinner with my wife and kids at night and to be able to go to softball and soccer games, but how was I going to do all this? My job experience was firing field artillery and running a restaurant.

Academically, all I had was my GED, but I talked it over with my wife and, with her support and that of my family, I decided to go back to school and pursue a degree in engineering. I had no idea what I was in for or how hard the climb would be. Not only was I tested time and time again by my Los Rios professors, but I also learned about myself and the world around me in ways I had not imagined.

Math was my biggest challenge. Starting at the pre-algebra level and continuing all the way through Calculus I, II and III, I have now finally finished differential equations. The American River College professors have been phenomenal, willing to spend time with me both during and after class to ensure I understood the subject material.

I will never forget Professor Matt Mitchell teaching us which way a tangent graph curves using John Travolta’s disco moves, or Professor Anthony Barcellos assigning an essay in my Calculus III class and using Einstein’s reasoning that “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t know enough about it.” I also cannot say enough about the tutors at ARC. Yale Numark walked me through too many topics and problems to count.

But more than math, I was equally impressed and thankful for what I initially thought was an unnecessary requirement, a foreign language. I took American Sign Language with Professor Eileen McCaffrey and was exposed to a new, different and incredible culture and language that I would not have been otherwise. I now use ASL daily and have met some of the most intriguing and awesome people who I never would have known.

My English teacher, Professor David Weinshilboum, was equally extraordinary. He taught me to write beyond that of what is required in a freshman writing class. He showed me how to develop a thought and to analyze my own writing. He taught me how to connect with the reader and convey a thought clearly and concisely. I will one day be a better engineer for it.

While attending ARC, I once emailed a professor and asked if I could find out early what I had scored on an exam. The response was “a disappointing C.” I realized that this professor expected more from me. He knew I was capable of more, and I needed to try harder. This is typical of the Los Rios professors I have encountered. They demand more of you and expect more than you thought you were capable of.

In basic training, my drill sergeants spoke of our “intestinal fortitude” when referring to physical endurance. At the community college, my phenomenal professors tested my mental fortitude.

I have now graduated with honors from ARC and will start in the fall at Sacramento State majoring in civil engineering. I want to emphasize that I am not special. There are thousands of students like me across California, most whom have much more compelling stories than I. That they can successfully complete their education is a tribute to California’s commitment to higher education — especially as expressed in our wonderful community colleges.

There are very few places in the world where a veteran with a 10th-grade education could retool at 30 years old and go on to a four-year university to study engineering.

— John Rooks is a Davis resident.

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