There was nothing in Yesenia Portillo's background growing up in an undeserved family in Orange that illustrated she would eventually graduate with honors from UCLA. Nothing in Venuri Weerarathne's background growing up in Sri Lanka that revealed UC Irvine was in her future.

Nothing on the surface showed this was the path for both first-generation college students, that is, save for raw, unbridled intelligence mixed with a feral determination that refused to allow doubt to creep in.

Even when Portillo was working nights as an assistant manager at Little Caesars, along with a half dozen extracurriculars and a full load of classes at Santiago Canyon College. And even as Weerarathne walked onto the SCC campus in 2023, not knowing anyone or anything about college life other than she wanted to live it.

There would be no other acceptable path for either. And while their paths didn't cross at SCC, it too served as a common— yet necessary— launching pad. The assistance both Portillo and Weerarathne received at SCC opened doors and revealed opportunities neither of them knew existed...READ MORE