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"If you do the work and challenge yourself and ask for help...you can do anything you set your mind to." Chris Adams Alum / 2019 / Sociology / Cosumnes River College

CRC and Honors Program alumnus, Chris Adams, is a true community leader. He runs an educational non-profit. He is a civil rights activist, serving as Sacramento Chapter Leader for the People's Alliance for Justice. He provided community support surrounding the Stephon Clark case. He helped get AB392 (The California Act to Save Lives) signed and was present at the bill's signing.

Having graduated from CRC in Spring 2019, Adams, now living in West LA, is pursuing his Bachelor's degree in sociology at UCLA, where he continues his devotion to political activism and community service. Adams is also extremely passionate about football. He began college after finding out that the career in collegiate football he envisioned for himself at the time would require a foundation in his own college education. As he explains, "I came into wanting to football coach and just needed my BA for that. Earning my degree in sociology is really going to help with any of my future goals."

One thing Adams has learned from his work in advocacy is how to work with a variety of people. Given his experience with many diverse community groups in Northern California during his time at CRC and now with the people in his growing community in LA, Adams says he's been able to figure out how different groups of people work with each other. He describes his recent education in and outside of the classroom in terms of "Learning a lot about how to interact with people. Getting a degree will help me if I want to get into law school, getting a BA will help me do the things I want to do with education and employment beyond where I am today."

Growing up, Adams claims he was never good at school, "I said I couldn't do it," Adams explains, commenting on his self-doubts. "I never thought that I would be an honors student. But then, I did really well for two semesters and got invited to join honors – I think you get a note that you're eligible. And so it was ironic, because just as I was saying I couldn't do it [...] I got the notice. So, when I was finally invited to honors, I was scared initially. I was scared to challenge myself – I thought if I took honors, my GPA would drop and I wouldn't get into the universities." But Adams' successful transfer to UCLA underscores how the CRC Honors Program opened doors for him and increased his self-confidence.

Reflecting on his experience in Honors, Adams notes "The CRC Honors program is really like a close community – everybody kind of knows each other, you'll end up sharing a lot of the same classes. Honors is not a requirement – [program participation is elective], so everyone has chosen to be there – they want to challenge themselves. As Adams explains, "Most of these people wanted to go to university and many of them end up going to those universities. The honors community as a whole [has] bigger goals outside of their immediate experience. It's a like-minded group – they all understand there is a lot of work, but we all try to help each other. We are to share openly with one another without fear of judgment and to help one another. We know it's going to be hard, so we're all sharing this experience and want to be there for one another. If we saw someone struggling we had others there to make sure we [are] okay, to check in on each other." Reflecting more broadly on the program, Adams notes the level of educational support Honors provides: "They are able to prepare you for any university."

While Adams currently getting himself established in LA, Adams notes,"Keeping active in Sacramento is still important to me." His focus is on continuing to grow his network of strong mentors. "I've been meeting a lot of professionals who've studied law and are able to give me a lot more information. Making a bigger impact on the community as a whole is my immediate plan for the future."

Adams already runs a non-profit called Game Changer. "It's supposed to be able to train people with life skills including how to interview, etiquette, study habits, ways to network. Eventually, I'd like to turn it into a general education preparation school that offers counseling and other resources. There's a grant coming up I am applying for to see what little steps I can start to take to make it bigger than it already is." When asked how his time in the CRC Honors program has contributed to his success, he replied "I just really got a great experience. I got to understand that if you do the work and challenge yourself and ask for help...asking for help is the main thing. Just put in the work – you can do anything you set your mind to."