​Florida Transplant Embraces New Major at SCC

Tatiana Perkins relocated with her family to the West Coast from Florida in 2016 with a plan to resume her community college education and continue towards a major in business. That was until she found herself both inspired and enlightened in Professor Melissa Govea’s women’s studies course at Santiago Canyon College (SCC).

"Rather than just sitting and listening to a lecture, Professor Govea would start a conversation that would become a group discussion, really opening up the class lines of communication,” said Perkins. “I was really impressed with the way she broke down barriers and created an open and safe place for us to discuss the issues of race and gender."

Perkins observed that the class also eased her adjustment to a new state and college, while she learned about the struggles and achievements of Chicano and black women, and the many challenges of social justice. As her interest in the class and the topic grew, she made a decision to change her course of study to political science and gender studies, and to consider becoming a college instructor who can also enlighten students.

"The political climate is slowly changing, but it needs to change more,” said Perkins. “We’re one of the only western countries that has never had a woman as president, and we have to direct more respect to the women who are in politics," she added.

Perkins has also branched into campus activities such as student government, and is working on a project that compares the women’s movement in the United States to that of France with an international student from France, under their advisor, Professor Govea.

After graduating from SCC, Perkins hopes to transfer to UCLA or USC, or perhaps a college in Washington, DC, where she can continue toward becoming a higher education professor.