We are thrilled to announce the winning submissions of the ideation challenge!
The Student Visions for Change challenge was a statewide call for proposals from California Community College students on how community colleges can transform themselves to serve students better. With over 1.8 million students, the California Community Colleges are the country's largest system of higher education. We are excited to uplift student voices and ideas on creating a more student-focused, equitable, and welcoming learning environment to support students in achieving their dreams! We received over 125 compelling proposals from students all across California. Below we highlight the nine winning submissions and three honorable mentions that stood out from the 125 ideas that were submitted.
Meet the Winners
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Heidi Flores
Los Angeles Trade Tech College
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Marielle Denise Melendez
Long Beach City College
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Brian Tong
Citrus College
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Oscar Heredia
Los Angeles Southwest College
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Matthew Robinson
MoraCosta College
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Husein Fatehi
Los Angeles Pierce College
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Daisy Yadav
Evergreen Valley College
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Emily Corvalan
Pasadena City College
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Amber LaFranboise
Mission College
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Maryelese Valencia
Riverside City College
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Bernard Kahiga
West Los Angeles College
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Paula DuBose
MiraCosta College
Incase you missed it, watch the full rewards ceremony recorded on February 9, 2024
Winning Submissions for:
Transformed Classrooms
This challenge focused on aspects of community college classrooms that make students excited to attend. Students wrote proposals about reimagined classrooms that look, sound, smell, or feel differently based on the characteristics of that classroom. Rather than dread attending class, students presented a reimagined classroom that uses different technology, materials, and approaches by instructors to create a lively learning experience.
Heidi Flores
Los Angeles Trade Tech College
Marielle Denise Melendez
Long Beach City College
Brian Tong
Citrus College
Honorable Mention
Oscar Heredia
Los Angeles Southwest College
Winning Submissions for:
Transformed Educators
As much as students learn from their instructors and other college staff, community college employees also learn daily from their students. This challenge asked students to propose creative ways to engage faculty and staff in effectively understanding students (i.e., a 101 about students). What don’t faculty and staff know about students but think they do? What do they get wrong? Students posed ideas on how educators can use today's tools and existing resources to leverage students’ brilliance in the classroom.
Matthew Robinson
MiraCosta College
Husein Fatehi
Los Angeles Pierce College
Daisy Yadav
Evergreen Valley College
Honorable Mention
Emily Corvalan
Pasadena City College
Winning Submissions for:
Transformed Support Resources for Students
Money and decisions about how to spend money are a core component of community college operations/management. An adage says that “budgets are a reflection of your values.” This challenge asked students to rethink how colleges allocate resources to support student learning. Students posed ideas on how to integrate better student voices, resources for parents and persons with disabilities, as well as reimagining financial aid for students.
Amber LaFranboise
Mission College
Maryelese Valencia
Riverside City College
Bernard Kahiga
West Los Angeles College
Honorable Mention
Paula DuBose
MiraCosta College
Applicant Summary
Challenge Launch Information
The Student Visions for Change challenge is a statewide call for proposals for California Community College students. We want to hear from you! How can community colleges transform themselves to serve you better? Winners will have their proposals publicly displayed and receive an award of up to $10,000.
Our goal is to uplift student voices and ideas on how California Community Colleges can transform themselves to support students in achieving their dreams.
California Community College students can submit their ideas to win one of nine monetary prizes across three challenges.
