​An Introvert Steps Out and into Student Life at SCC

In 2014, Emmanuel Flores began his freshman year at Santiago Canyon College (SCC) eager and optimistic about starting school on campus. It was a place that he badly wanted to like in the hopes of making the most of his college experience, but he worried that as an introvert, he wouldn’t fit in. It turns out that Flores was in exactly the right place because the SCC culture fosters personal growth along with academics, and offers many student paths to get there.

By taking a step out of his usual reserved comfort zone, Flores applied to participate in the college’s Student Leadership Institute (SLI) during that first semester. There, he honed his public speaking skills, attended workshops about time management, networking, and crisis resolution - valuable assets for the business major that he is - and learned more about what the college's resources had to offer.

His positive experience with SLI led him to participate in the Associated Student Government (ASG), where he met a group of people who helped him grow further as a person and took on the role as the Director of Health and Wellness, thus hosting a campus blood drive with the American Red Cross.

"By coordinating the blood drive, I learned how to work with a high-profile national non-profit, and recruit volunteers for an event. It was very different, but I gained confidence by doing things that I never would have considered before," said Flores. His success with the blood drive prompted Flores to take the lead on Stress-Less Week, which focused on showing students how to cope with stress through various activities and freebies.

With an eye on transferring to Cal State Long Beach or Cal State Fullerton as a business major, Flores is closing in on his goal and finalizing the classes he’ll need to transfer. He is confident now that he’ll head to a four-year college armed with some essential new life skills that he picked up at SCC.