Meet Moises: Special education

Western is such a supporting school and supporting is a big thing for me. I believe if you don't have a school that's going to be there for you, at the end of the day, it's not going to be a good outcome for you. And when looking at different colleges, this was the only one that was supporting me even when I wasn't a student.

I always felt like education was such a big and important factor in life. And growing up, I felt like my teachers weren't always respected and it kind of helped me create a bond with my teachers. Then with that personal relationship it helped me learn what I wanted to do for a career.

My experiences in the classroom have been pretty good. I really enjoy my nature creativity class, which is a class that goes more in depth on creativity, especially in the classroom when you're teaching. And it's super important to always be in touch with your creativity side because if you're not, it could hurt you in the long run.

I also really like my science and exploration course. It's a group based class and you get to learn about astronomy, the sun, the weather and clouds. 

When I started the process of transferring to WMU they made sure I was taking the right classes. I was also connected with an advisor from Western to make sure I was doing the right classes and making sure my credits were going to transfer. So it was really smooth.

And if you had any questions, you could literally just call the Office of Admissions and they would pick up right away and they'd be like you have to do this or you have do that. 

Being a first generation student is the most powerful feeling ever. My family's background is not super educational so all my siblings and l wanted to go to college for my mom. Everything's for our mom. I'm here for my mom. I want to be the one to be able to support her and that's my main reason for coming here.

I was eligible for the college system migrant program (CAMP), because growing up, my mom worked in the blueberry farms and factories. And I would actually go and help her while I was growing up, which is a very important factor to being a participant because being a migrant worker is what is all about.

So this is my first semester with CAMP, and it's a really good program. It strives to make us feel like a family, which I really fell in love with when I first came. I was very nervous but the directors strive to make us create bonds with on another. Within the program, they help us all understand that we are one big family and that no matter what, we should always double check on each other.