Diamante Scholars Program shines at Diablo Valley College
Diamante Scholars Program shines at Diablo Valley College
It's a college homecoming for Castro Valley native Pete Zaballos. From start-ups to Venture Capital the 65 year old crushed the tech-world for over four decades, never forgetting where this once below-average student discovered his passion for Math and Engineering. KTVU's Frank Mallicoat reports.
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - It's a college homecoming for Castro Valley native Pete Zaballos. From start-ups to Venture Capital the 65 year old crushed the tech-world for over four decades, never forgetting where this once below-average student discovered his passion for Math and Engineering.
Pleasant Hill's Diablo Valley College.
"I walked into the same building I was in 40 years ago, and I got teary. Like it really was this place where I discovered my path," said Zaballos.
A path that lead him to UC-Berkeley and the Massuchusetts Institute of Technology with great success, but when it came time to giving back, all roads lead back to Zaballos’s junior college.
"When I came to DVC my life changed when I started to take math and discovered I could be good at math and deferential equations, and that was the one when all the lights went off for me."
So, Pete is now flipping that switch for another generation of students. Teens with untapped potential and hungry for direction into his Diamante Scholars Program where their motto is simple: do what others doubt.
"I want students to learn can I solve problems. Can I work on teams well together. Am I curious. Can I learn. And something that fails like so many in business are involved with. How do you look at failure as data to help you get better. So, you learn to be resilient," said Zaballos.
Now in year four, the program is thriving. It mentors seniors at 4 East Bay High Schools: Ygnacio Valley, Concord, Mt Diablo and Olympic High. Thiry-five students were accepted this fall at DVC including Concord's Emily Mora and Alexa Hinojosa who will both be exposed to these vital life skills and tech contacts over the next 2 years all thanks to Pete's network
"I always dreamed to go to college since my grandma said I wanted you to have more opportunities that didn't have," said Hinojosa.
"Diamante Scholars has really helped out. By just making sure that I'm able to afford to come here at DVC and do want I want to do," said Mora.
Ninety-eight percent of Diamante Scholars are students of color, and 80% of these students suffer from a combination of income, food and housing insecurities. Something DVC's Dean of Student Equity and engagement Dr. Eric Handy knows oh to well. He too was once homeless. "We give them a lifeline of hope, and I think that's what student are missing now is a lifeline, hoping someone says, ‘hey I see your potential. I see your value and I believe in you.’"
The goal is to propel these students to a four-year college and beyond. The program has already graduated over 100 students. All thanks to an old C-minus student who got his wings at DVC. "Being a part of a program that’s helping these kids achieve things that they couldn't imagine they could achieve. That's the true satisfaction you get out of a role," said Zaballos.