Higher Education - A Ticket to a Better Future

I enrolled as a full time student at Modesto Junior College from 1992 to 1994.  Hindsight is always “twenty-twenty.”  Looking back, my years at MJC are one the few things I would not change.  I owe my work ethic and character to the time I was enrolled at MJC.  My family immigrated to the United States in 1981; I was seven years old.  We were refugees from the war-torn country of Cambodia.

When we came to the US, we had only the clothes on our back.  My parents worked as much as they could to help us get through each month, which was not enough, and we relied on government assistance.  However, my parents reminded us often to strive and succeed in school, because education was our ticket to a better future.  Both of my sisters attended MJC and transferred to CSU Stanislaus to complete their undergraduate studies in Liberal Arts.  They are now school teachers in Los Angeles.

As for me, I transferred from MJC to CSU Sacramento to complete my undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering.  I am the owner of DME Consultants, a company that specializes in environmental noise and air quality analysis in Phoenix, Arizona.  Because my sisters and I succeeded, we were able to help pave the way for my two younger brothers, who completed their undergraduate studies at CSU Sacramento in Electrical/Electronic Engineering and Biology, respectively.

One MJC professor I remember most was Professor Mudie from a Physics Course.  I remembered because I fell asleep in his class once.  That year was challenging for me, because I was working full time as a janitor from 5pm to 2am while being a full-time student.  One day, Professor Mudie was having trouble untangling an extension cord for the overhead projector.  He was telling the whole class that if anyone here does not make it as a physicist at least learn to wind up an extension cord correctly.  He proceeded to show us how to correctly wind up the extension cord so that it does not tangle when it is unwound.  I did not become a physicist, but every time I wind up an extension cord, it reminds me of Professor Mudie and MJC.   MJC has a treasured place in my heart.  The education and character-building that MJC provided resonate through me every day.  My family came to the US with nothing, but the US has opportunities for dreams to flourish.  MJC is a gateway to these opportunities.  I am grateful to be an MJC alumnus.  Thank you.

- Chet Monh, Class of 1984