Raymond Cobb

Hello! My name is Raymond Cobb and I am a full-time student Mt. San Antonio College. I was born in Los Angeles, California but I grew up and attended school in Compton, California, a city notoriously known for its gang violence. I lived in foster care all my life, but my foster mother Evalyn Rose Culpepper, kept and raised me as her own. While in high school I did poorly after the 9th grade, and made the decision to sign up for Utah Job Corps so that I can go get my G.E.D. After returning back to California I enter the workforce.

In 2009, my mother passed away, and I lost my home. I had to couch hop between my friends and family in order to keep from living on the streets. Between 2011 and 2013 I was finally able to acquire my own place, and transitioned from renting rooms to sharing in an apartment with some friends, but I struggled to maintain a full-time permanent job. After being laid-off and losing my apartment at the beginning of 2014, I was back to couch hopping. Being 28 years old and feeling like I had failed, I decided to return to school to obtain my A.A. degree with the hope of transferring to a University.

I want to study abroad because I believe it will be a highly rewarding experience, giving me a better cultural background, providing me with an experience to learn in another country so that I can share my experiences with other students. I look forward to researching for my classes at unique sources that I wouldn’t have anywhere else, visiting libraries and campuses in London, and studying with other students will give me chance to learn about new ways of approaching research and studying. Since becoming a student at Mt. SAC I have been keeping a high GPA even though I do not have a stable home or transportation. I feel that I am good candidate because I can be role model for the returning student, the homeless student, and the black student that despite all odds, pulled through to be something great.