On Saturday June 25th 2016 two of our founders, Neftali Aguilera and Noe Gonzalez had the pleasure of being part of a student panel at UCSB for EOPS Summer Institute program.  The EOPS Summer Institute is a three day program where students are engaged various workshops to motivate and inspire its students.  Neftali Aguilera was part of the first EOPS Summer Institute group in 2007 as an EOPS student, it goes to show the power and the impact this program has on its participants.  Both of our founders are also former EOPS students at SBCC and are a product of the hard work of the EOPS program. During this evening they shared their powerful life stories and their educational journeys with EOPS students from many community colleges in the tri-counties. Students were also able to engage with our two founders asking advice about the transfer process and what resources are available for transfer students.  We are humbled with this experience and we look forward to participating in many more outreach events. We would like to thank the EOPS Summer Institute for considering us and for having us this evening and we would also like to thank Eli Villanueva for continuing to be a strong support for EOPS Students at Santa Barbara City College.

About EOPS Summer Institute:The EOPS Summer Institute is designed for community college EOPS students who are hoping to take their education to the next level! The weekend long leadership institute encourages students to develop a vision of higher education. Activities include:

Ropes Course Motivational Speakers Leadership Skills Workshop Transfer Strategies Workshop Financial Literacy Workshop Living in University Dorms BBQ

All while making new friends, making connections and living the university life!

Program Mission:To provide an over and above experience for EOPS students that promotes retention and the pursuit of higher education. In addition, our objective is to build self awareness, a sense of community, create a vision to pursue higher education, and provide development of leadership, academic, and life skills.

Photo Credit: EOPS Summer Institute