Neither even knew what a community college was before they landed in the United States, but both have emerged as straight-A students and campus leaders who say two-year colleges brought them educational opportunities that are allowing them to pursue the most American of dreams.

"It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor," says Barerra, 23, student government treasurer at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey. "If you're willing to work hard and set goals, you can achieve them."

Zhanbekov and Barerra are among 20 students cited in an annual recognition program for two-year college students, sponsored by the American publication, USA TODAY, for academic success, leadership and service.

"These students have come from all walks of life and even from different parts of the world to achieve academically. They are models of scholarship and altruism, even though many also have family and job obligations," USA TODAY editor Karen Jurgensen noted. "We honor them to recognize that great things are happening at all levels of education."

The honorees mirror the diversity that marks community college education in the nation.

Joel-Henry Mansfield graduated first in his class at Lowell High School, a selective academic public institution in San Francisco, California. Though many of his classmates went on to Berkeley and other University of California campuses, Mansfield, 20, started his pre-law studies at Canada (Community) College in nearby Redwood City so he could take care of his grandmother. Married at 19 and a mother at 21, Gina Yacynych, 42, started taking courses at Cambria County (Pennsylvania) Community College three years ago to support her church volunteer work. "I hadn't been in school in 20 years, but I really enjoyed it, and I thought I might as well get a degree while I was at it," says Yacynych, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in social work. The mother of three found herself taking courses alongside her 19-year-old daughter, Stephanie.

Zhanbekov, 20, the only son of a college professor and an engineer, has lived in several countries, traveled all over Europe as a high school debater and is fluent in five languages. After graduating from a U.S. high school, he chose Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Alabama, over a scholarship at a four-year college because of the challenging coursework and the personal attention the community college offered. "Everyone at the school knows my name, and they are always available," he says.

Stephanie Markgraf moved back to her New Jersey hometown when her mother was in the advanced stages of multiple sclerosis. An artist with almost 20 years in the offset printing business, Markgraf, 42, decided to upgrade her job skills at Cumberland County College while caring for her mother. The community college experience was so positive that Markgraf decided to pursue a full degree and eventually teach graphic arts.

Naeem Ahmad is a Pakistani immigrant who drove a cab for two years before taking an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) course at Miami-Dade (Florida) Community College. Ahmad, 25, always intended to go to university, but he chose to begin at Miami-Dade because of its educational quality, accessibility, opportunity and low cost. "I was told the two-year college was cheaper, and that you might get a scholarship (to continue at a four-year school)," says Ahmad, who received several scholarship offers.

George Bruque, 21, resisted pressure to apply to University of California schools directly out of high school because he wasn't ready to leave his family. "I had the grades and I could have gone, but moving away was a big, big step," he says. "(Fresno) City College is a lot cheaper, and the comparable courses are just as rigorous. There were no drawbacks." Bruque will finish his pre-medicine studies at the University of California-Davis.

Born in New Jersey but raised in Nigeria, Oladmeji Sule moved to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, after high school to stay with relatives and study computer science. Sule, 21, chose Minneapolis Community & Technical College because of its accessibility by bus lines. Quickly, though, he was impressed by the educational opportunities and diversity there.

Charlotte LaVergne, 37, started pursuing a nursing degree in 1984 at Louisiana State University at Eunice, taking one night course while pregnant with her fourth child. She lost the baby during pregnancy, but as a result of her experience, decided to become an obstetrician. Now the mother of seven children ages six to 22, she attended community college when her schedule allowed. "Even though I was not supposed to beat those odds, this school provided me with the resources to achieve those goals," she reflects.

Brenda Brooks-Solveson, 39, and a mother of two, entered Edison Community College in Fort Myers, Florida, when she was denied admission to Florida Gulf Coast University. "They wouldn't take me, based on my achievement test scores I took 17 years before," she says. "I had heard through the grapevine they were taking everybody. I was crushed. I cried the whole way home." She started as a non-degree student at Edison, but found encouragement every step of the way, piling up A's in courses like psychology and algebra before gaining the confidence to enter the honors program and major in earth science. For LaVergne, who served as a supplemental instructional leader for organic chemistry and won campus service and leadership awards, life is never a question of being too hard.

"As long as something is available to me, and those who've gone before me are working with me, I'm going to go for it."

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Tracey Wong Briggs is on the staff of USA TODAY. Copyright © 2002, USA TODAY. Reprinted with permission.

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