Angelo Herrera, College Transfer Graduate
Big Goals
Angelo Herrera’s dream is to be a cardiologist, and save lives. “Saving someone’s life would be an incredible thing to do,” he says. But amazingly, that’s not his only career goal. At some point he’d also like to get into politics. “I feel like as a politician, I could be involved in many ways to help others. Pretty much both my career choices involve helping others. That’s what I really want to do with my future: help others and make the community better.”
Coming out of North Forsyth High School, Angelo wasn’t nearly so focused. “I needed more time to figure out what career and goals I was going to pursue,” he says. “I realized that going to Forsyth Tech would give me time to soak everything in and have more knowledge when it came to deciding my future. I wanted to find myself, which I did.”
Finding The Right Path
At Forsyth Tech Angelo took a variety of different courses, looking for the pathway that would inspire him. “I’ve always been somebody that has several things on their mind,” he recalls, “so once I got to Forsyth Tech I started taking all these classes, and soon I realized the ones I found more compelling and that I was attracted to academically involved biology. So I decided to become a Biology major.”
Angelo graduated from Forsyth Tech in May 2016 with an Associate in Science degree, with a focus in Biology, and has now transferred to Appalachian State University. There he is pursuing a major in Biology and a minor in Political Science. He’s found a pathway to achieving his goals, thanks to Forsyth Tech.
Getting Focused
But it wasn’t always easy. When he started at the college, he was both a full-time student and a full-time employee, working at a local bank. Working during the day and taking classes at night was a hard balance, he says, and a little overwhelming. His grades suffered and he lost his financial aid. He made the difficult decision to quit his job and focus entirely on his education.
It made a tremendous difference. Not only did his grades go up, he was also able to get more of the total college experience. He joined the Hispanic Student Association and got involved with Student Government. He found that getting involved outside the classroom was as important as the work he did in the classroom. “The best thing for anybody going to college is to get involved in any way possible,” he says. “That will affect your future and affect the way you develop into a better person, into the better version of yourself. In my case, that meant getting involved with student government. That gave me a different perspective about a lot of things and helped me create a better version of myself.”
The Best Reason To Go To Forsyth Tech
He also believes that being at a community college was a big advantage in terms of support and interaction with staff and instructors. “A bigger school is not going to be as involved with you as a community college like Forsyth Tech,” he says. “The staff there is super helpful. And having all these people there who care about you is really rewarding and makes you very comfortable. It makes you feel good every time you go to your classes.”
As he moves on to the next chapter in his education and his life, Angelo considers his choice to attend Forsyth Tech as a key to discovering who he is and what he really wants to do. “The best reason to go to Forsyth Tech? It will absolutely help you find yourself, and by finding yourself you become more successful in life.”
