West Hills Lemoore College gave second chance to student leader who stumbled in high school

Being the son of a community college counselor and an elementary teacher, Aaron Villarreal should have had an easy path to college.

However, the 20-year-old Villarreal created his own roadblock when he allowed his grades to suffer his senior year at Lemoore High School.

“Surprisingly, I was an average Joe,” said Villarreal about his high school grades. “My senior year, I was a D student.”

That bad? After all, his GPA in high school was about 3.0.

“I wasn’t really believing in education, and I was 1% away from failing my English class,” he said.

Villarreal’s attitude changed after arriving at West Hills College Lemoore, where he earned an associate’s degree in business administration. He will major in business at CSU Monterey Bay in the fall.

“Having that second chance here at West Hills has really brightened my outlook on my life and really brightened my outlook on my new career,” said Villareal, who was this year’s student body president for the 1,200 enrolled students.

The college, which opened a year before Villarreal was born, “has given me that encouragement and passion to continue with higher education and continue my life,” he said.

Villarreal admits the college “was definitely not my top option; but, I really didn’t have any other choice.”

It helped that his father, Óscar Villarreal, is the Upward Bound director at West Hills College Lemoore.

Villarreal learned from his father, who took 14 years to get his degrees.

“He always told me, ‘No matter how long it takes you to complete your education, as long as you go down that route and you’re doing something you’re passionate about, that’s fine,’” said Villarreal.

After talking with his father, Villarreal decided to enroll at West Hills College Lemoore.

“West Hills was a route that I wanted to go down because I heard very many things about it,” said Villarreal. “And it was in my backyard.

“It was definitely something that I didn’t really expect, that I would fully grow from,” he said.

Villarreal, who wants to become an accountant, loved the new campus and its technology, including “high flex chairs in our classrooms that really helps us feel comfortable while learning.”

He was one of three community college students in the state to receive the Student Leadership Award for their vision of success.

“It definitely means a lot,” he said. “Just being recognized and being able to have people see my work and see my dedication was a big honor for me.”

Villarreal was one of two student speakers at the May 25 commencement ceremony at the Golden Eagle Arena. The other speaker was TikTok superstar Leo González.