After 20 years of service to the Campaign for College Opportunity, Michele Siqueiros will step down as president of this non-profit organization on June 30, but a few months ago she was one of the winners of the 2024 leadership awards from the James Irvine Foundation.
Under his leadership, the Campaign for College Opportunity became one of the most influential higher education advocacy, research, and policy organizations in California and the country.
He led major efforts to reform college access, end the use of standardized testing in CSU and UC admissions, and secure more than $6 billion in state funding for higher education.
This year, she was one of six recipients of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards, a distinction that recognizes leaders whose innovative solutions to the state’s critical challenges help improve the lives of Californians by creating opportunity.
The opinion held an exclusive interview with Michel Siqueiros.
How it all started?
“I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My mother was born in Guadalajara, Mexico; my dad in El Paso, Texas. I am very proud to be Mexican, and from Los Angeles. My mom always supported me in my studies, I went to Pitzer College and UCLA. I graduated in political and Chicano studies; and my master’s degree was in urban planning.
Who was your main inspiration for going to university?
“The first and greatest inspiration was my mother, a sewing worker. There were also teachers and counselors who helped me apply to college.”
Michele says she wanted to go to college to have the opportunities her parents couldn’t.
“What I still remember is that the first year when I did my taxes and worked for a nonprofit, I made more that year than my parents. This shows what can be achieved with an education.”.
What was the most difficult thing about going to university?
“I grew up in a very diverse community with Latinos, Asians and African-Americans, but then when I went to school, most of the students were Anglo-Saxon and there weren’t many teachers who were Latino or African-American; and it wasn’t very far from my house, but I felt like I had arrived on another planet.
“Sometimes I questioned whether I deserved to be there, and if I was prepared enough. I also had courses at the university in which I did not understand what the professor was talking about. Fortunately I had classmates and teachers who helped me and never made me feel like I didn’t belong there.”
At what moments do you decide to work to help others go to college?
“When I was in college, access and support was something close to my heart. I always loved politics. He felt that the power of Latinos was based on studying and voting. “All of that changes the trajectory of our future.”
How did it come into your life? Campaign for College Opportunity?
“The truth is, when I saw the advertisement 20 years ago about creating this organization, it was something that inspired me because I had the opportunity to go to college, the support and inspiration of my mother, teachers and counselors, and the financial aid. . At that time, there was Affirmative Action which meant I could study at UCLA on a scholarship that covered everything.
“I learned very early that it is not just about having the desire, but there has to be a structure that helps students like me so they can go to university.”.
Did you practically create the Campaign for College Opportunity right from the start?
“There were three organizations that came together, including MALDEF, which advocates for Latino rights, as well California Business Roundtable and community college leaders. Those three organizations founded this organization. I was the second person added to the team of the Campaign for College Opportunityand the truth is we had to grow this organization to achieve the impact it has had.
What have been the main achievements of these 20 years to improve access for Latinos and communities of color?
“There is a long list of accomplishments, primarily we have secured billions of dollars for community colleges and our universities. Second, we advocate heavily to protect financial aid and ensure that it is awarded to students who are undocumented; and third, that students who go to community colleges have a very clear path to get to university.
“We advocated with Senator Alex Padilla when he was in the California Senate to ensure that there was a associate degree (technical degree) to transfer; In other words, it is a very clear path to obtain that certificate and transfer from schools to universities.
“And we have been the voice on the most important issues in higher education to change the practices that existed in community colleges where many of the Latino and African American students were put in courses called in English. remedial courses, but they don’t give you credits for college. You think they are good because they help you with math and English, but they don’t give them the support they need to advance.
“We worked very hard to support a law that would eliminate that, and help students at community colleges pass the courses that give them credit to go to college.”
One of the main problems with going to college is the high cost of college. Is there enough financial aid? And is it flowing?
“There is a lot of financial help. The state of California has one of the most generous student financial aid systems in the entire country. Financial aid says you qualify, if you are low-income, to get a Cal Grant that pays your tuition at the University of California, Cal State Universities; and at community colleges it’s almost free if you go from high school to community college.
“If there is a lot of help, is it enough? we are always advocating for more. We also want students to not take so long. If they enter a community college they can transfer to the university to graduate in four years. We know that many students have to work, but it is very important if a family can support the student, the support that we give to our children will pay back a thousand times when they graduate from university in terms of opportunities. We know that a student who graduates from college earns over a million dollars over a lifetime, more than a person who just graduated from high school.”.
Maybe sometimes there is a lack of information in high school or middle schools for students to go to university…
“Not all high school principals think their job is to ensure students are prepared to go to college. Not surprisingly, in Los Angeles, only 50% of students who are Latino go straight to college. It is a percentage that has grown a lot, but it is not enough. Since most jobs of the future require specialization and higher education to advance in careers, there is more to do in high schools, and as parents we have to advocate for our own children. Make sure that the courses they are going to take will prepare them to go to university, and find out about financial aid.
Have we managed to improve the graduation rates of Latinos in college?
“There are more Latinos prepared to go to university than before. There are more and more Latinos attending college and graduating, but it is not enough. When you think that 39% of California’s population is Latino and we see that only 10 or 12% have a higher education, it is not enough”.
What is missing, what should leaders who advocate for college access focus on?
“Resources are needed. This work is not done without investing in our colleges and universities. It is important that leaders and governors think that it is an investment. Every time you educate a person, you give them the possibility, the resources and access to so many things. Those people pay more taxes. California’s economy has been very strong, because we have always had many very educated people. The iPhone and so many things were invented here through its universities. It is a gift to our economy to invest in more Californians going to college.
“We must analyze the practices of our colleges and universities. Many times these practices have been in place since 1960. They do not help today’s students, who are the first in their families to go to university, who are low-income and need more support.
“It is very important that as Latinos we are not ashamed to ask for the services we deserve. We all pay taxes in this country, in this state and we must ensure that they give us the treatment we deserve, that we advocate for our children and that we ask how many Latinos attend to university, how many are preparing in high school to go to university, how many are graduating.”
What made you one of the 2024 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipients?
“The main reason was that we have made an incredible change in California. More students have access to financial aid, a clearer path to college; we have changed the conversation in Sacramento among politicians about the needs of Latinos and African Americans for higher education; we have ensured that the student is the most powerful guide in politics; not others, with very different interests. We have ensured that financial aid is for all Californians, regardless of whether you have status or not. That was all part of the reason they gave me that award.
Are you leaving in June? Campaign for College Opportunity?
“It is important as a leader to create something that will survive, not because Michele Siqueiros is there but because it is important to the community. I hope the campaign continues for many more years. There is important work to do. I have been fortunate, not only to do a job that I love, but to do it alongside colleagues who are incredible, talented. The organization is in a very strong place, with a very smart team. It was time for me to go. I’m interested in taking a break and seeing what other opportunities there are for me to continue advocating for communities.
You are an example of what can be achieved if we go to university and if we do graduate school, what would you say to students to encourage them to knock on doors to apply for financial aid, especially undocumented students?
“We all come from families that at one time or another had someone who was undocumented; and they could be legalized. It will never hurt you to have a career. What’s more, in California, if you want to be a lawyer you can practice law, it doesn’t matter if you are a resident or not. There are many opportunities units thanks to the rulers that we have elected who have put themselves in front of our brothers who do not have documents with the hope that in the future, they can achieve their residency.
“The most important thing is that they know that there are many people advocating for our community, prepared to help, and that the talent that exists in the Latino community can be used.”