Riverside City College Students Explore Black Excellence and Higher Education Opportunities During Northern California College Tour
Seventeen Riverside City College students recently traveled to Northern California for an immersive college experience designed to expand their understanding of higher education opportunities, connect them with supportive campus communities, and encourage them to envision themselves as Scholars at some of the nation’s leading universities.
As part of the experience, RCC students visited University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Davis and California State University, Sacramento. The group included 17 students, three chaperones and the Vice Presidents of Student Services and Planning and Development.
The Berkeley visit provided students with an opportunity to learn more about the university, its academic opportunities and the resources available to help students navigate the transition to a four-year institution. Students stopped by the Fannie Lou Hamer Black Resource Center and the African American Studies department, which connected them with the history of Black activism, achievement and advocacy while learning about campus spaces intentionally created to affirm and support Black students.
At UC Davis, students learned about academic, cultural and student-support resources available to help Black students succeed through College Corps and the Center for African Diaspora Student Success (CADSS). The experience reinforced the importance of building relationships, finding community, and utilizing available support systems.
The visit was part of a broader Northern California college tour that also included Sacramento State’s Hornet Experience: Black Excellence. At Sacramento State, students participated in campus tours and admissions support, learned about the university’s Black Honors College, attended a special tailgate and experienced a Sacramento State football game.
Together, the visits gave students opportunities to experience university campuses beyond the traditional college tour; seeing firsthand the academic, cultural and student-support communities available to them.
Herb English, Dean of Counseling and Specially Funded Programs, said,“Creating opportunities for African American/ Black students to visit institutions such as UC Berkeley, Sacramento State, and UC Davis is an investment in possibility, representation, and academic aspiration. College tours help students envision themselves in higher education, connect their goals to tangible opportunities, and recognize that their dreams are not only possible but within reach. By expanding access to these experiences, we help students see themselves as scholars, leaders, and future change-makers.”
For RCC students, the experience offered more than exposure to three university campuses. It created opportunities to imagine new possibilities for their futures.
“These universities are not places that are beyond our students’ reach,” said Monique Greene, Ed.D., Professor of Counseling. “They are places where our students belong. The overall goal is to strengthen RCC’s transfer partnerships with UC Davis and Sacramento State (part of the 31 institutions in California to receive Black-Serving Institution (BSI) designations), while exposing students to campus life and the programs and services available to them as transfer students.”
The experience reflects RCC’s commitment to creating opportunities that help students explore transfer pathways, reimagine themselves as Scholars, identify supportive campus communities, and make informed decisions about their educational futures.
This trip may have been their first opportunity to visit a major research university or experience a university environment beyond Southern California. For others, it may become the beginning of a new vision for what is possible after community college.
The experience also underscored the importance of representation and belonging in student success. By connecting students with campuses, programs and resources that recognize and support Black student achievement, RCC seeks to ensure students understand that their history, culture and identities can be sources of strength as they pursue academic excellence.
“This is what access looks like. This is what exposure looks like. This is what Black student success looks like,” explained Corey Timberlake, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling and Umoja Coordinator, “For some students, this weekend may have simply been a college visit. For others, it may have planted a seed that changes the direction of their lives. That is why we create these experiences. We want our students to see possibilities beyond what they have previously imagined and understand that their history, culture, brilliance, and Blackness are not obstacles to academic excellence; they are sources of strength.”
About Riverside City College
Riverside City College, part of the Riverside Community College District, serves more than 30,000 students annually and offers a wide range of academic, career education and transfer opportunities. RCC is committed to student success and to creating pathways that help students achieve their educational and career goals.
