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Daniel “Danny” Gonzalez had just sat down for his Engineering 101 course at Santa Barbara City College when his professor, Dr. Nick Arnold, declared that only one in three students in the engineering program would complete the program.
Gonzalez glanced to his left, where his friend Ben sat, then to his right at his friend Luis, before thinking, “I gotta break the statistic.”
Instead of feeling discouraged by this fact, Gonzalez felt inspired. “Especially because we’re all Mexicanos,” he said, during an interview at The Daisy on State Street. “None of us are supposed to finish it. So I’m like, this is part of it — this is part of breaking that stat.”
In the end, only two of the friends finished the program — Gonzalez was one of them.. Sure, it wasn’t all three, but they did break that statistic.
Seeing the program through was a defining moment for Gonzalez as a first-generation college student. Growing up, he was the eldest of six children in a crowded three-bedroom home in Santa Barbara. The house, he said, was often full, something he likened to “the Mexican Brady Bunch.” It was fun. But some challenges and responsibilities came with being part of a large family. Especially as the oldest sibling, he didn’t take the decision of where to go to college lightly.
After graduating from Santa Barbara High School, he had the opportunity to attend a college out of state, but it didn’t feel right. He was unsure about leaving home and felt that attending SBCC would provide him with the support and time he needed to determine his major and career path. For him, SBCC wasn’t a last resort but a deliberate choice. He noted, “City College really paved the way.”
Once at school, he needed to declare an area of study. He knew that he was interested in STEM, but wanted to explore different fields. “And so that’s where going to Santa Barbara City College really made all the difference,” he reflected. “I got to try all the different realms of engineering, from mechanical, electrical, and I found that chemical engineering was my passion.”
At SBCC, he became involved in multiple student organizations, such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the MESA program, which provided him with a supportive community and opportunities for growth.
Over time, he took on increasing leadership responsibilities within SHPE, eventually serving as president. In addition to his organizational involvement, he participated in project-based work and community service.
The tutoring program played a big part. Gonzalez received tutoring help and later was able to help tutor other students. He also took part in a range of extracurricular activities, all of which helped him build valuable skills and connections during his time at City College.
In many ways, SBCC’s academics paved the way to Gonzalez’s eventual success, but it was the support system at SBCC that really made the difference. “I was really blessed,” he shared. “I was really fortunate to have [those] people around me.”
One especially impactful mentor was Adolfo Corral, SBCC’s former Equity, Diversity & Cultural Competency Coordinator, who passed away in 2020. Corral was actually the one who helped Gonzalez secure a pivotal internship involving semiconductors, which took place in New Mexico. “I owe the internship of my life to that guy,” mused Gonzalez.
The company, Next Energies Technology, developed a thin film, foldable tape — a polymer coating with semiconductor properties. “I’d say that internship really solidified the fact that I wanted to do R&D [Research and Development],” Gonzalez recalled. “I wanted to work in semiconductors, and I really wanted to make an impact.”
Two other influential figures were MESA Director Virginia Estrella and academic counselor Maria Morales, whom Gonzales describes as his tías (Spanish for “aunts”). Gonzalez fondly remembers Estrella and Morales being there for him on tough days, offering encouragement and a caring presence when he was overwhelmed or struggling with bad exam scores.
SBCC’s support didn’t stop there. The school also helped Gonzalez financially by keeping him enrolled when he couldn’t afford classes and by providing a work-study program that allowed him to gain experience and earn academic credit.
In 2018, five years after that first engineering class, Gonzalez transferred to Cal Poly, where he studied chemical engineering. He graduated in 2021 and currently works at Atomica, a semiconductor manufacturing company, as a senior manufacturing engineer. He runs a product line that builds fiber optic benches and hardware, helping to fabricate components used in large data storage centers, such as those for Google Cloud.
The “spark” of his workweek, he said, is getting to mentor operators under him — providing them with the same support and guidance that SBCC gave him. He recalled a meeting with the then-dean of SBCC where he promised Gonzalez that the school would help him succeed. That made all the difference.
“Really, at that moment, it felt like City College had a lot more than just this typical transactional community college,” he shared.“Especially with all those people that went out of their way to help just one student — and I really think that they do that all the time.”
This article was paid for by Santa Barbara City College. For more information on Santa Barbara City College and the hundreds of programs they offer, visit sbcc.edu or call (805) 965-0581. If you are an SBCC alumnus, please join SBCC Alumni Connect at sbccfoundation.org/alumni.
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