Hi my name is Keon Amid. I am 18 years old, I have lived in the city of San Mateo my whole life, and I am currently a student at CSM majoring in computer science. My goals are to transfer to a university after two years at CSM with an end goal of getting a masters in computer science. Aside from being a full time student, I also work construction when I have time. I enjoy lifting weights, traveling, and occasionally playing video games. These are all hobbies that I share with my friends. I have had the same few friends for years now and we have a lot in common with each other.

Read Keon’s story, “The Real Impact of Social Media”

My name is Janie Chan, and I am from Millbrae. I am in my first year of college at College of San Mateo, and my major is undecided. I am dedicating the beginning of my college career to explore different fields and find one that fits me well. Not surprisingly, many other college students are experiencing this problem as well, and I am not alone. I hope that sharing my story and experiences will help people realize that there are others that are experiencing the same problems as you, and there will be people that will be there for you.

Read Janie’s story, “Attachment”

Brian is from the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently he is on the dean’s list at College of San Mateo majoring in Social Science. In conjunction with being a college student, he actively works as a professional equity performing artist aspiring to be on Broadway. He intends to use his college degree to work in the field of mental health as a motivational life coach. “I dedicate my essay to my parents for always loving, tutoring, supporting and believing in me!”

Read Brian’s story, “Plan B”

Hi, my name is Ariana Dulos. I’m a freshman at CSM and Skyline Community College. I am majoring in Cosmetology, for it is one of my passions. I love being creative with my makeup, hair, and nails. My overall career goal is to open my own salon one day and be able to be creative from here on out. I’m from Pacifica, California, but born in Burlingame and raised in South San Francisco. I am a Filipino American and can speak Tagalog, one of the Philippine languages, fluently. My hobbies include archery, walks on the beach, painting, going to the gym, doing my makeup and nails, and overall spending quality time with friends and family.

Read Ariana’s research paper, “It’s not a Phase!: Overcoming Stigmas and Parental Judgment”

My name is Yasmin Flores, I’m 19 years old, and I live in San Mateo. This is my first year in College of San Mateo and my current major is psychology. My career goal is to be a psychologist for children and study child development. My goal is to transfer within two years to CSU/UC to earn my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the career I want to pursue. My hobbies are reading/writing poems expressing my feelings, designing art as a distraction, and making friends here in CSM since everyone here is awesome. I work as a barista at Peet’s Coffee and love working with my fellow employees and practicing on latte art.

Read Yasmin’s research paper, “It’s not a Phase!: Overcoming Stigmas and Parental Judgment”

My name is Griffin Hubner, I’m a student at College of San Mateo and am finishing my first semester of my freshmen year. I’m 25 years old and majoring in communications with the intent to transfer to a university in the US or Europe. I served in the US Navy for five years as a Submarine Sonar Technician from 2016-2021. My career goal is to be an airline pilot for United or Delta Airlines. My main hobby is aviation photography which I primarily do at San Francisco airport, but occasionally travel to airports around Europe and take photos there. For example, I’m writing this from a hotel in Amsterdam after having spent most of the day doing photography at Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport. Other hobbies of mine include soccer, watching new movies, and learning new skills of any sort.

Read Griffin’s research paper, “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community College Students: A Counterstory”

Hello, my name is Paul Iwach, and I’m from the San Mateo area attending the College of San Mateo. I am currently pursuing my major in Business Administration; however, this might change down the road, due to my desire for a career that is more meaningful to me. I am a huge outdoors person, so perhaps a biology or marine biology major would be a better fit for me. My favorite outdoor activities include hiking, fishing, hunting, and gardening. Just finishing my first semester at CSM has made me realize this school was the best fit for me, and hopefully many other young adults will make the same discoveries I have.

Read Paul’s research paper, “Community College: A Savvy Decision”

My name is Shoshana Kurland, and I am honored to be featured in The People's Stories. I am currently a college freshman at College of San Mateo, and I am majoring in Web App & Mobile Design. My goal is to transfer to a UC or a CSU for my sophomore year of college and eventually build a career related to either web design, graphic design, or UX/UI design, perhaps integrated with areas such as business, marketing, and/or psychology. My hobbies include non-competitive swimming, hiking, traveling, making art using digital as well as traditional mediums, photography, singing and writing songs, playing piano by ear, reading fictional books, (particularly fantasy books or classic literature) and non-fiction books, (particularly about psychology, philosophy, and biology), watching films and shows, and writing stories and poems. I have always had a love for writing, and I find that I am always engaged, and eager to both learn and contribute in any English class I find myself in. My featured essay, "Maybe" is about how social media has both negatively, (and in the end) positively impacted me, how I have learned to interact with social media, and how I've learned to perceive myself and society through my experiences with social media as well as my experiences with the Covid-19 pandemic in relation to social media. Thank you for reading my essay!

Read Shoshana’s story, “Maybe:”

My name is Itzel Macias. I’m 19, and I live in the city of San Mateo. I am a first-generation Mexican-American college student, raised in a primarily African-American and Latino dense neighborhood. I currently work at my local recreation center, as I value being connected to my community. I am passionate about film and storytelling through media. I look up to screenwriters such as Jordan Peele and Luis Miguel-Valdez, both of whom utilize film as a way to artistically portray culture and the oppressions that their communities face. I hope to one day as well use my experiences & knowledge gained through higher education, and utilize film as means to empower my community!

Read Itzel’s story, “Why It Happened to Me”

Karla Rodrigues is currently in her first year at College of San Mateo, where she plans on pursuing a Nursing major. She started her High School in Brazil, where she was born, but had the opportunity to expand her knowledge by moving to San Francisco, California.

Currently working as a part time Nanny, her dream is to graduate from college and become a Nurse with focus on Pediatrics.

By telling her story, Karla hopes to reach the academic community, share her experiences during the pandemic, and somehow inspire the ones who are just starting their academic journey.

“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”

Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist

Read Karla’s story, “The Hump in my Road”

Ethan Nguyen is from South San Francisco and is a student at College of San Mateo (CSM) in San Mateo, CA. Ethan dropped out of computer science to pursue a career in lazing around and surfing the internet, but he dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. To that end, he’s currently getting his real estate license. Ethan enjoys reading books, working out, and watching anime. Ethan also really wants to hit a 225 lb bench press. He’s so close.

Read Ethan’s story, “Social Media Bad”

Merle Nguyen lives in Redwood City, California. He is a student at College of San Mateo, where he is taking several language classes and art classes hoping to find what he wants to major in. He likes to cosplay and play video games, and knows ASL and French. He identifies as a transgender man, but is alright using they/them pronouns as well as he/him. He hopes to one day be able to use the many skills he learns in college to advocate for trans people and make the world a safer place for LGBTQ+ people.

Read Merle’s story, “Coming Out as Trans during Quarantine”

Sophie Slusher is from Half Moon Bay. She is a student at College of San Mateo. She hopes to pursue a major in Psychology while simultaneously focusing on her art. She is interested in spreading mental health awareness and aspires to advocate for the cause through her future career and art projects. Along with traditional art, she uses writing as a medium to express her thoughts. She works in both creative and non-fiction writing. Outside of academic pursuits, she enjoys fantasy novels, live music, and playing guitar.

Read Sophie’s research paper, “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community College Students: A Counterstory”

My name is Colin Thorneycroft. I live in San Mateo, California, and I mostly live a pretty quiet life to myself. Although I do enjoy some occasional shenanigans with close friends, I spend most of my time playing video games and watching stuff. It’s a bad habit I’m trying to break, alright? My current goal at CSM is to hopefully get a kinesiology degree (although, being honest, it may take a while). I would like to hopefully get involved in some sort of medical setting both for the very solid pay but also to help people get over their various woes and grievances. Currently, though, I work in a car shop, where I am trying to restore an old junker of a Mustang alongside the normal work such as oil changes, tire rotations, and many other things. It’s pretty enjoyable work, so we’ll see if I turn into a registered mechanic before I end up getting locked in with an office job!

Read Colin’s research paper, “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community College Students: A Counterstory”

My name is Selin Tosun and I am ecstatic to be featured in Volume I, Issue 1 of The People’s Stories. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to write all sorts of stories, poems, essays and everything in between. During my journey through discovering my passion for writing, I encountered Professor Wallace’s English class. Professor Wallace has taught me to write like a pro, be confident in my writing, and most importantly, to understand what I am writing about. My passion for English only grew stronger after I took the English classes that changed my entire perspective on reading and writing. I am extremely grateful to be included in this Volume of The People’s Stories and I hope my piece, and all the other amazing authors’ pieces will be read, enjoyed, and thought over.

Read Selin’s story, “Beautiful Struggles”

My name is Reed Walters. Right now I'm a business major at CSM, but I'm thinking that I want to switch. I have an interest in taking astronomy classes and hope to one day explore my options in that area. I'm super excited to be able to publish some of our work and hope that our essay fits among the other incredible writing on The People's Stories.

Read Reed’s research paper, “Community College: A Savvy Decision”

DIRECTOR

Jeramy Wallace is an Professor of English at College of San Mateo (CSM) in San Mateo, CA. He has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as president of the CSM Academic Senate, as president of the San Mateo County Community Colleges District Academic Senate, and as the coordinator for the CSM Umoja Community. He has written and presented widely on race, educational equity, and social justice in community colleges, and he is a co-author of the books Minding the Obligation Gap: Striving for Equity in Community Colleges and Beyond (2020) and The White Educators Guide to Equity: Teaching for Justice in Community Colleges (2023) and author of The People’s Stories: Critical Storytelling for Social. Justice (2023). Jeramy received his Master’s in English from Notre Dame de Namur University and his postsecondary teaching credentials from San Francisco State University. You can learn more at jeramywallace.com.