Joanna Klinert, 30, De Anza College

Joanna Klinert is enjoying her experience at De Anza College in Cupertino, especially her ESL classes. The 30-year-old mother, who is also a native of Poland, has a Journalism degree from there, but wants to start a new career — maybe in nursing. However, now in her second year, it’s been quite a challenge for Joanna to get a counseling appointment. The wait is more than two hours, and she says “you can’t make an appointment, which is frustrating.” It’s been a big adjustment for Joanna to acclimate to California's higher education system, and she can’t ask a counselor about it because "the lines are too long." To register for classes, Joanna woke up at 5 a.m. on the eight day of registration, yet, she says she was still forced to take classes at times that were inconvenient to her. Joanna is frustrated that she has to start from scratch in California, even though she spent two years in college and five years at a university in Poland.  Not only could she not transfer her units, she had to wait three years to get residency before she could start classes, because it was too expensive as a non-resident. She would like college to be a little less expensive for those trying to attain resident status.

The Campaign has traveled to community colleges and universities statewide and collected hundreds of stories from current college students. Their stories express the positive impact of higher education on individual lives, as well as the numerous problems today's students are facing. As a growing number of people seek higher education, these problems will only get worse. Click below to see how this is affecting students in your region.

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