OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Kenneth Pilco earned his associates in Law, Public Policy and Society from Miracosta Community College in May. He is getting ready to embark on a new journey at Stanford University, its news that still has Pilco in disbelief.
“I find it really unbelievable, I think Stanford accepts like 50…40 transfer students a year and it's like so much harder to get in as a transfer student,’ Pilco said. .
During Kenneth’s time in community college, he was part of several organizations including Hispanic serving institution and student government. An acceptance to Stanford University marks a major milestone for Miracosta College, something that hasn't been seen in decades.
“What I've heard from other colleagues who have been here for more than twenty years is they haven't seen anybody in the last 29 years or so transfer to Stanford and so this year we actually have Kenneth and another student so a total of two students transferring to Stanford,” Miracosta Interim Dean of Counseling and Student Development Juan Carlos Reyna said.
Kenneth tells CBS 8 that he got accepted to several other universities including, University of California Berkley, University California Los Angeles and University of Southern California.
Pilco was part of Miracosta's Puente Program which helps students get the help and support they need to transfer to a four-year university through counseling and mentoring on campus.
“When our students succeed in transferring and they succeed in obtaining a career of their choice you know that's success obviously for the student but its success for the family, its success for the community,” Reyna said.
As Kenneth prepares to make his move to Stanford in September, he reflects on the gratitude he has for this opportunity and to inspire others.
“I have the opportunity and it's a great opportunity to inspire other people and to show other people that it is possible,” Pilco said.
At Stanford, Kenneth is majoring in International Relations with an emphasis in World Trade and International Security.
WATCH RELATED: Palomar College offers 'Early College Program' to Bonsall Unified high school students