ACC Graduate Spotlight: Anthony Alaniz

The path to become a program director at American Career College took Anthony Alaniz many steps. The first one hurt the most.

Fresh out of high school, Alaniz found himself in a dead-end job with no vision for life.

“It was kind of a low-skill, low-value job where the next day I could have been laid off and they could have brought anyone in to fill my position," he said. "Then one day, I stepped on a nail in the warehouse and said 'This is not for me.' So I decided to go to school."

Alaniz said he was immature and unfocused in high school. He spent his time in class just “going through the motions” and doing the minimum to get by.

"ACC was a totally different environment. It was more custom, it was more tailored. I felt important. I wasn’t a number — I was a person," he said. "My instructor took me in and made sure she answered all my questions and gave me the first taste of a positive learning environment.”

Alaniz initially signed up to be a pharmacy technician before taking a second peek at the ACC-Orange County’s Optical Technician program and liking what he saw.

“I didn't know it at the time, but it was a niche for me. I found what I was good at," he said. "I started understanding the curriculum, I did really well in the course and my teacher was really motivational for me."

With the help of Career Services, Alaniz had a job before graduation and never looked back. He went on to work for a large medical group, where he eventually found himself supervising ACC externs. It became clear to the ACC alumnus that one of things he liked most about his role was interacting with students.

“When a teaching position opened up — part-time in the evening — I jumped at it,” Alaniz said.

Years later, Alaniz is now program director at the ACC Ontario campus and never lost sight of why he became an educator.

“One of my priorities is to make sure my students have as good, if not a better, experience than I had at ACC. I can say that for a lot of my colleagues here,” Alaniz said. “We all carry that student-centric attitude. It’s genuinely all about the students.”

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