Eloy Ortiz Oakley
The California Community Colleges
Los Angeles, CA USA
"My hope is that we can eliminate the need for luck for students [to succeed]...it shouldn’t be about luck, it should be about changing the odds."
Career Roadmap
Eloy's work combines: Education, Business, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I had a few commanding officers in the military that encouraged me to pursue an education, so when I got out of the military that was one of the first things I did. I didn't want to have any excuse for missing an opportunity.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Associate's Degree
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Golden West College
Bachelor's Degree
Environmental Design/Architecture
University of California-Irvine
Bachelor's Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of California-Irvine
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of California-Irvine
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Grew up in Southern California in a working class family where college was not heavily emphasized—would later become the first in his family to go to college.
2.
Says he always had a passion to help people and wanted to make a difference, but had no idea how to channel that into a career.
3.
Right out of high school, he got recruited to go to Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, but never went to class because he didn’t have a way to commute from where he lived 45 minutes away.
4.
Decided to join the military and ended up serving four years in the U.S. Army—credits this with helping him realize the value of an education.
5.
After the Army, he went to community college, then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental design and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Irvine.
6.
Says he missed out on the “typical college experience” because he was older, working full-time, and raising a family.
7.
Has been part of several trailblazing policy efforts in business and education, but is best known for his role in creating the nationally recognized Long Beach College Promise initiative.
8.
He is the first Latino chancellor of the California Community Colleges system, overseeing 114 community colleges in the state of California and serving 2.1 million students.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
You don't have an education, so you are going to miss out on a lot of opportunities.
How I responded:
I had a few commanding officers in the military that encouraged me to pursue an education, so when I got out of the military that was one of the first things I did. I didn't want to have any excuse for missing an opportunity.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I didn't go to school till I was much older. I was working full-time and supporting my family, so I missed out on the typical college experience. It was also an added struggle to get through school because of all of my other responsibilities.
I was recruited to play football at Pitzer College, but I didn't end up going because I didn't have anyone around to help me realize the value of a college education and what that experience could provide for me. I joined the military instead.