EAOP Alumni Profiles
EAOP targets low-income students attending some of the state's most challenged schools and puts them on track to a college education. EAOP empowers students to envision themselves succeeding in college and guides families with no history of college-going in navigating college options and the complex application process.
EAOP graduates attend all the UC campuses, including UCLA and UC Berkeley. Two of the top private school destinations are USC and Stanford.
EAOP alumni succeed in fields including engineering, politics, law, science, education, medicine, architecture, and business.
To read more about a student's EAOP experience, select a photo below.
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| Are you an EAOP alumnus interested in being profiled here? If so, please send an email message with your name and contact information to eaop@ucop.edu. | ||||||
Yesenia Casillas
Graduating Class
UC Riverside, Class of 2006
Bachelor of Science
High School
Bassett Senior High School (La Puente),
Class of 2002
Current Position
Student Intern
Katz Okitsu and Associates
Yesenia Casillas participated in the Magic School Bus trip in the summer of 2001 that took a group of students to various campuses on a learning adventure. "I will never forget those wonderful two weeks," she recalls. "That experience gave me the opportunity to learn firsthand the meaning of the college life. I was able to take classes like real college students, eat in a cafeteria, meet new people, go to the library, live in a dorm, and many more things. The Magic School Bus trip took us up to UC Santa Barbara and down to UC San Diego. My experience was a trip of a lifetime. At first, I was scared, but the supervisors and mentors made me feel welcome."
While her older brother Rodrigo was the first in her family to attend and to graduate from college, EAOP helped Yesenia decide that college was also the right choice for her. "EAOP informed me that college was more than just school. It was also the key to a successful life. Without EAOP, I honestly believe that I would not be here at the University of California, Riverside. Who knows, I might be working a full-time job that would not offer future advancement. I truly believe that EAOP was my shinning light that guided me in the right path to start a successful life. EAOP gave me the mentality that I have about being able to achieve in school. Without EAOP I don't know what I would be doing."
The EAOP advisers that Yesenia worked with played important roles in preparing for college. "My mentors, Yadira and Hermin, were always there to help me out whenever I had questions and doubts. They always made me feel welcomed and important, and they never made me feel uncomfortable. I enjoyed speaking with them about college and they were always able to answer all of my questions and concerns about due dates in any application submittal. Participating in EAOP during high school helped me in preparing for college because they always kept us informed about admission requirements. Also, EAOP offered workshops that prepared us for entrance exams like the SATs. We also went on field trips to colleges and universities, which inspired me to attend a college after I graduated. They kept us active and engaged in all kinds of activities, which is good for students in high school."
"They were more than just advisors," she reflects. "It was more like having a friend and a mentor-someone who was there to assist, to counsel, and to offer advice whenever I was in need. Not long ago I crossed paths with my high school mentor, Yadira, and we talked about how school was coming along. It was great to know that she still remembered me."
During her college career, Yesenia worked at her old high school in a program called Summer Youth Employment. Often the students in that program would ask her how to get ahead in life. "I always advised the students to take full advantage of the program. Participate in the workshops being offered. Ask questions. Work with the counselors. And, if possible, become part of a program like EAOP. Also, I was a mentor for Cedarlane Middle School located in Hacienda Heights and it brought me so much joy to see the faces of the students when I informed them that going to college is possible and not out of this world. Many students believed that college was too expensive and that they could not afford it, but after telling them about scholarships, grants and loans being available, they were astonished. I know what these students feel and think about going to college or to a university because I was once in their shoes."