​Encouragement from Professor Leads to Career Path for SCC Student

SCC student Adriana Ibanez began her time at Santiago Canyon College (SCC) in 2011. Unfortunately, she had to take time off for a few years due to a situation within her family. Despite the time away from her college career, Ibanez always had the thought of her education in the back of her mind.

Before returning to SCC in 2015, though, one class in particular helped to shape her thought process. This class ultimately gave her the confidence and strategies to take on particular circumstances she was faced with during her brief time away from school.

“Professor Michael DeCarbo,” says Ibanez, “was passionate, caring, and so much more than that. His presence in class and way he lectured inspired me to want to pursue a degree in interpersonal communication.”

Upon following the path of interpersonal communication, Ibanez was set to present in DeCarbo’s class her first semester back. “I was scared to present, and he could see that. Instead of giving up on me, we discussed what I could fix…he gave me constructive criticism,” says Ibanez.

She believes that the passion DeCarbo has for communication, as well as his students, motivated her to want to continue her path of education to law school, where she ultimately wants to become a mediator.

Thanks to DeCarbo, Ibanez has a new mindset. “The fear that you have within you, you control it. You are the only person who is in your own way,” says Ibanez.