- Title: Project Specialist
- Department: IVC Student Life and Equity Programming
- Division: Student Life
- Phone: (949)451-5260
- Bio:
Born and raised in South Central and Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Jesse is a Chicanx/Latinx and Filipino male of color who became entrenched with gangs that have impacted his family for decades. Experiencing the consequences of being in a gang, he had multiple near-death situations (including being stabbed in the head and shot, which he still walks with a bullet in his back to this day). During this time, he enrolled at Cerritos College while working full-time and dealing with a court case with the possibility of going to state prison for five years. Placed on felon probation with time served (credited to character references from community college staff/faculty), he transferred to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He graduated in 2019 in Business Management and Operations & Supply Chain Management while completing community service, becoming sober, and eventually expunging his criminal record. He recently graduated from USC with a master's in educational counseling and started his doctoral program at CSULB Educational Leadership program.