Title V at CCA

Mission:

Title V Project-Asegurando serves the diverse student population of the Community College of Aurora through inclusive initiatives, programming, and support. We are dedicated to achieving student success, eliminating equity gaps, and transforming CCA’s student experiences.

Vision:

Asegurando establishes a student-centered culture where everyone thrives, and our community’s diverse lived experiences are embraced

Asegurando Summer Bridge Program

A summer experience designed for eligible first time, future CCA students that offers workshops to help establish academic and career goals, meet with advisors, career counselors, and financial aid advisors! Once participants complete the Summer Bridge Program, they will receive a $100 stipend.

Additionally, Summer Bridge students who enroll at CCA in the fall semester will receive an additional scholarship, access to our laptop loan service, and one-on-one support throughout the academic year from our College Readiness Program Manager. Contact us for more information or apply here. Applications are reviewed every Spring for the upcoming Summer.

Asegurando Effective Instructor Development Series

Professional development courses offered to faculty & instructors at CCA dedicated to improving learning outcomes for all student populations, via a virtual platform. Topics include project-based experiential learning for student success, accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL), STEM and culturally responsive pedagogy, high-impact teaching practices in the classroom, using backward design to center student understanding in lesson planning, and the feedback-assessment cycle to inform teaching and learning.

Since 2016

CCA is a Designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution

25%+

Hispanic Students

Undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student enrollment.

30%+

Latinx

More than 30 percent of the student population identifies as Latinx.

1 in 16

Graduates Are Latinx

1 in 16 students who graduate are Latinx students

100%

Proud!

For our commitment to ensuring all students receive a quality education

Meet Our Dedicated Team

Jasmine J. Yap, Ph.D.

Inclusive Pedagogy Instructional Lead (pronouns: she/her/hers)

Jasmine was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ, one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., by parents who immigrated from the Philippines. She is a lifelong learner, earning her B.A. in Psychology from Loyola University Maryland, her M.S. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a concentration in Neuropsychopharmacology from Tufts University, and most recently, her M.A. in Teaching in Diverse Contexts from University of Colorado Denver through their Urban Community Teacher Education Program. A postdoctoral research opportunity brought her to University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute for Behavioral Genetics in 2009, where she studied the effects of stressor controllability on drug-taking behavior and neuroinflammation in the dopamine reward system. It was during this time that she realized that the brightest spots in her day were when she was directly working with her students. This led to a pivot towards teaching, first as an adjunct professor at University of Denver, then as a high school science teacher. For the past 5 years, she taught biology and chemistry at Arvada High School and Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) High School Montview (formerly Stapleton). She is glad to be a part of the CCA community as an Inclusive Pedagogy Instructional Coach, a position that allows her to work with faculty and instructors towards the common goal of improving retention, graduation, and transfer outcomes for all our students, particularly our students of color and marginalized identities.

Monica Paez, M.A.

Project Director (pronouns: she/her/hers)

Monica is the proud first-generation daughter of immigrants and the youngest of four. She attended Colorado State University where she discovered her passion for education and decided to pursue her master’s degree at the University of San Francisco. In her current role as project director of the Title V Grant, she hopes to close equity gaps and work alongside students, so they, too, feel empowered. Monica is dedicated to putting students first, and her work is focused on ensuring that students complete their programs and receive a high-quality education.

Sumner Lambert, M.A.

Data Analyst (pronouns: he/him, they/them)

Sumner was raised in Fresno, California, but made frequent visits to spend time with family in the Aurora and Denver areas over the years before making Colorado his home in 2019. He completed a B.A. in psychology at Boston University in 2011, and an M.A. from CSU Fresno in experimental psychology -writing his thesis on temporal perception in 2017. Sumner began working in the office of institutional research at Fresno City College in 2014 and proceeded to work in a variety of data-centric roles there; most recently he served as the adjunct faculty research coordinator responsible for the Basic Skills Student Outcomes Transformation Grant (BSSOT) from 2017-2019. Sumner believes in leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data to help give power to the student voice, experiences, and hardships encountered. As a data analyst he understands that educational data does not exist in a vacuum and that the many varied experiences and student backgrounds offer crucial context necessary for driving the progress towards eliminating historic inequities and hurdles faced by traditionally underserved student populations.

Efren Herrera Hurtado

College Readiness Program Manager (pronouns: él/he/him)

Efren is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico. He was raised in Aurora, Colorado and has called Aurora home for the past 23 years. Efren is also a first-generation high school and college graduate. He obtained his BA in Ethnic Studies and minor in French from the University of Colorado Boulder. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado and holds a masters in higher education and student affairs leadership. He centers radical acceptance in his daily educational practice and personal life to advance the perspective of how one approaches life. Efren has a commitment to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in education and in other spaces he occupies. He has a commitment to students, a commitment to honoring spaces of learning and growth, and a commitment to advancing educational spaces for all. Efren currently serves at his alma mater as the Title V College Readiness Program Manager and on the Board of Directors for the college’s Foundation. He is a prospective PhD student and an aspiring professor in ethnic studies and higher education. When not working, you can find Efren binge-watching foreign films on Netflix, exploring local coffeeshops, or traveling somewhere.

Annalia Acuña

Support Specialist (pronouns: she/her/hers)

Annalia was born and raised in Aurora, Colorado. Annalia attended University of Northern Colorado where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2019. She was a high school chemistry teacher for 2 years before she decided to change her career to focus more on systemic, administrative processes within education. At CCA, Annalia supports the Title V team to provide student programming, instructor development, and promote data-informed practices. Outside of work, Annalia volunteers in the community, paints, and hangs out with her many pets!

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