Mar Cainglet

University of California, Davis

College is not as easy as I thought it would. In the spring of 2007, during my first few months attending Diablo Valley College, I was bombarded with vast amount of new information in regards on how to successfully engage the college experience. It was like a new math formula that I had never encountered before and the thought of it were simultaneously overwhelming and intimidating. Immediately, I searched for a mentor for guidance on how to decipher this new information so I can use it to my own advantage.

Nevertheless, the school’s guidance counselors were available, although at times it can be an inconvenient experience for they were sometimes booked for the entire week. On the other hand, if they do have one available different counselors would be assigned, and the times specifically allocated were compressed every session because other students were waiting in line. I kept my options open for better and luxurious alternative approach.

Time invested: Things that happened in between

Fortunately, when I took Mr. Trung Le’s class I knew that he would become my prospective mentor. During class, I was intrigued when he mentioned that he once attended Diablo Valley College and managed to successfully transfer to prestigious Universities in California.  Right after class, I politely introduce myself along with a question “what city did you graduate high school from?” he nonchalantly replied “in the city of Vallejo.” What a coincidence because I too graduated from the city of Vallejo; even though he attended the neighboring high school, that didn’t matter. What was important was that we both established basic common grounds. In the following weeks that came, he began inquiring questions such as the following: “What is my major?  Why had I chosen this major? Do you know the difference between IGETC and GE? Which University do intend to transfer? And when? Do you know how the transfer agreement works?”

For a few minutes, out of ignorance, I felt like bursting to tears and was ready to walk away from him because I had limited understanding and was not well equipped with ravishing data on how to suitably answer his simple questions. When I went home and finally sat on my desk, I found out that the answers to his questions were on the brochures which were available at the Transfer Center that I took while waiting for an appointment from the previous weeks. Metaphorically speaking, the counselors assigned the necessary weapons and ammo but I was oblivious on how to adequately apply it because I did not know how to operate the system.

With his professionalism and humble heart, Mr. Le reassured my confused mind to not fret despite of all the complexities of the moment. Moreover, I became enthused and took copious notes while listening to valuable information he disclosed in regards to both college life and Philosophical ideas. In economics expressions he saw a potential investment! Furthermore, he introduced the concept of me transferring to prestigious Universities; however, to me that was unheard of, because the thought of it was beyond my expectations. Before introducing me to the transfer agreement process, he made an appointment during one of the weekends for both of us to have a grand tour at University of Berkeley.   

While we were both walking around the Berkeley campus, I was instantaneously compelled by the radiating atmosphere in the area and of course the colossal structures of the buildings; it was my first time visiting the place, and what I had witnessed filled me with exuberance. Afterwards, my belief level escalated overnight due to the intensity of such an experience which Mr. Le had implanted in my mind.

The next action was to generate a plan. He recommended taking certain professors because the course they teach had an enormous impact on him during his undergraduate years, and so I did. Secondly, I was to associate myself with clubs that captures my interest and start becoming an active participant along the way. One particular club that I strongly got involved in was the Veterans Club and became one of the founders of building the club. Also, most importantly was to volunteer to places that had moving reputation in the community. It was incomprehensible at first but when he pointed out that all of these extracurricular activities can potentially add bright colors to my transfer application, I was on fire.

My mutual association with Mr. Le helped maintained my progress tremendously in good standing. Although there were times I felt like quitting, nevertheless, due to his tenacious supervision it facilitated my status every semester. When the time came to apply for the transfer applications, I was bold enough to apply to all of the University of California campuses. And when the results came out, both UC Berkeley and UC Los Angeles were the only two campuses that rejected my application out of the nine. But the results did not discourage me at all because my top three picks were UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego.   

Eventually, I ended up in UC Davis in the fall of 2009, majoring in both Economics and Philosophy. Lastly, the significant part was that all of these experiences were made possible because of the outstanding mentorship and guidance of Mr. Le, in addition to his careful planning and swift action which resulted in both pleasurable and doable work.

For those who are lost and considering about the idea of a mentor, I highly recommend checking out what Mr. Trung Le has to offer. Perhaps you too can benefit from his guidance and prove the troubled world your magnificence. The real question is “Are you ready to change for the better?” Who knows over time you can become part of his circle of friends.