Once upon a time Austin Salcedo hated school. Like… REALLY hated school.
“I whole-heartedly despised school – much more than any average kid,” he says. “I failed English and Biology in my freshman year of high school without remorse, and I (barely) graduated with a 2.6 GPA.”
After high school, Salcedo decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Marine Corps, but he struggled with depression, and even found himself contemplating suicide at one point. “The only reason I didn’t go through with it was the thought of what it would do to my parents. Knowing I couldn’t pull the trigger, I decided that I needed to actively change my mentality in order to find happiness,” he says. “By the end of my deployment, I made a promise to myself. I would start college as soon as I returned to the States, and put forth maximum effort so that I could earn a degree from the best university that I possibly could — I wanted to make up for lost time.”
Salcedo found his passion in the field of psychology and neuroscience, devouring books on both subjects as he finished his time in the military. He took online college courses while serving in the Middle East - one class at a time - and with each “A” his self-confidence grew. It was lucky happenstance that brought Salcedo to Orange Coast College once he separated from the Marine Corps — and he could not be happier.
“My girlfriend was moving to Costa Mesa around that time, so I decided to move near her. OCC just so happened to be the closest college, and that was that!,” he says. “Being a first-generation college student, I simply had no idea what to look for in a college, but I am eternally grateful for stumbling upon such an incredible institution.”
Salcedo found the support he needed at OCC, from the professors who went the extra mile to help him succeed to the tutoring center that became a second home, it wasn’t long before he became an honors student with a 4.0 GPA… something he never could have imagined was possible. “‘Teenage Austin’ is the absolute polar opposite of ‘Today Austin.’ I am just very proud of who I’ve become, and where I am going,” he says.
Participating in veterans programs on campus also offered Salcedo a lifeline, and he eventually became president of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) at OCC and the SALUTE National Veterans Honor Society. But his proudest accomplishment, hands down, has been founding OCC’s first ever Research Journal Club, which allows students who are interested in pursuing advanced degrees to gain experience studying and analyzing research from academic journals.
“The purpose of the RJC is to begin developing research skills in community college students to prepare them for their research careers in the future,” he explains. “It helps develop critical thinking skills, reading efficiency, communication skills, presentation skills, and more.”
With so much uncertainty due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Salcedo has decided to defer his enrollment at Stanford for one year, and will pursue research positions in his hometown of Miami while he waits for the crisis to pass. But after that, he has big plans.
“In 5 years, I should be working on my PhD ... maybe at Harvard? Overseas? Who knows,” he says. “After I finish my PhD, I will most likely continue working in academia as a cognitive neuroscience researcher. I hope to be an active contributor to my community and others in need.”
One thing Salcedo knows for sure: he wouldn’t be where he is today if fate hadn’t brought him to Coast. “I’d just like to say one more thank you to the staff and faculty, and the OCC community in general. I am very happy with where I am currently at in life, and I don’t think that would have been possible without spending these past three years at OCC. I am eternally grateful.”