​Emerging Documentary Producer Finds His Niche at SCC

There are a wide range of resources, clubs, and activities for students to tap into at Santiago Community College (SCC). Edward Valenzuela wasn’t aware of many of them when he first stepped onto the campus in fall of 2017, but he thought the First Year Support Center might be a good place to start.

SCC Student Services Coordinator Cindy Partida worked with Valenzuela to help the new student find success in his major, which was TV/video. In a serendipitous twist, a position opened up for someone to produce and edit videos for the Center. Valenzuela applied and got the position, and it’s been an exuberant downhill ride since then.

“I love my job, I work with new equipment and have a lot of control on projects that come up, which provide me experience in scriptwriting, video shooting, editing, lighting and more,” according to Valenzuela. “Prior to this opportunity, I didn’t know anyone and I would just sit out on the quad by myself.”

He isn’t alone anymore. Valenzuela spends time outside of class hanging out at the Center, which does provide a myriad of services to freshmen, including scholarship assistance, California Dream Act Assistance, transfer counseling, and enrollment assistance, but is available to all students.

His involvement with the Center also led to his participation in Phi Beta Kappa and the United Students for Equal Education (USEE), where he is collaborating with the club founder to produce a documentary about how the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has impacted SCC students.

This industrious student has already started his own production company in Los Angeles. Valenzuela hopes to eventually transfer to Chapman College to pursue his film studies, and ultimately make his own films and may even try his hand at acting.