Carlos Angelo Guino first heard about AACC’s Early College Access Program (ECAP) through a friend at North County High School. His mother suggested he give the program a try so he could take college classes at a lower price while he was still in high school. During his junior year, he took his first college course, psychology, attending classes in person in the evening.
“At first, I was nervous because there (were) a lot of older kids,” he said. “But then when I introduced myself as a high school student, I was treated the exact same as everyone else."
Although he anticipated college-level courses would be “super hard” and the professors would be intimidating, he’s found the coursework manageable – with the right planning – and the professors very friendly.
“My first class, which was psychology, I was like, I'm not afraid, but nervous, because this professor is going to be strict and mean,” he said. “One of the first things she said was, ‘Oh, you can just call me Julie.’”
Guino continued taking college courses at AACC through the rest of his high school career, including courses in algebra, sociology and speech. He’s experienced both a mix of in-person and online courses (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and both have taught him about time management.
“Once I started doing the college classes ... I kind of trained myself to divide the work throughout the week and then manage time more efficiently,” he said. “Which has been really helpful for me. Not just for college, but also in high school and for other activities.”
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