A loving son, devoted brother and hard working student, Luis Rivera, 20, plans on majoring in communications at Cal Poly Pomona. After three years at Mt. SAC, he says he will miss certain professors the most.

Even though he had been accepted into a few universities, Rivera attended Mt. SAC right out of high school. He felt it would be more financially responsible to take the community college route.

Rivera’s brothers were also a contributing factor in his choice to attend Mt. SAC. He is extremely close to them and thought it might be the right choice to stay nearby.

Rivera was very uncertain about what to do after high school, and he found the transition from high school to college quite difficult. He felt like he was never able to find his place at Mt. SAC because he was not involved in extracurricular activities. In high school, however, he was more involved and active.

Rivera adjusted to the change with the help of therapy. He said that even if he was completely fine and did not need it, he would still have enjoyed the experience. Rivera especially enjoys his relationship with his therapist, and he likes that they have no history with each other outside of what is disclosed between them in the sessions.

For the past two years, Rivera has also found passion in piano. In high school, he was jealous of students who could play instruments and believed that he was not musically inclined to do so. It was not until he took a class at Mt. SAC that he found his newest passion.

“It sounds cliche, but it is a form of expression,” he said. “It’s great.”

Ever since he started playing piano, he has been practicing nonstop, and he looks forward to advancing his skills in the future. Piano has become an essential part of his life and was even a contributing factor to his decision to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

Spending time at Cal Poly Pomona and having friends at the campus has made the transfer from community to university easier for Rivera. He says he really likes the campus and feels more comfortable due to the fact that he already spends so much time there. His mother also rejoiced at her son’s decision and was relieved at the fact that Luis is attending a local university.

Rivera is now ready to take the next step by transferring out of Mt. SAC. He believes that attending Mt. SAC helped make the transition to university a little less difficult, and he is optimistic about the future.