Tania Requenes

Program Director of Community College Success
10,000 Degrees Alumna & Staff Since 2012
MA, University of San Francisco, 2020
BA, University of California, Davis, 2012
AA, Santa Rosa Junior College, 2010

“I first got involved with 10,000 Degrees as a high school student in 2005. I’m the oldest of my siblings and cousins, and no one in my family had any knowledge about the college experience. I was a strong student, but not getting the support that I needed. Being accepted into the 10,000 Degrees Summer Intensive was life-changing. It was the first time I set foot on a college campus, and the first time I thought college was possible for me. After I graduated, 10,000 Degrees offered me a summer job as a Summer Intensive advisor. Initially, I took the job to give back to an organization that had taken a chance on me. But I became inspired to help students with similar shared experiences. Later that year, I was hired as an intern and then promoted to a 10,000 Degrees Fellow. Now, I'm the Director of Community College Success managing a team of fellows and Program Managers.

Since graduating, my younger sister and younger brother are also now proud college graduates. I have also been able to help my cousins enroll in college, including some in community colleges. I have seen first hand the life-changing opportunities that higher education offers, including economic stability and job security. At 10,000 Degrees, we are able to change some of the systemic institutional barriers and create more equitable systems of change. Returning to the community and giving back is incredibly important to me. I really believe in this work and want to dedicate my life’s work to making education a reality for all students. Receiving a higher education is truly life-changing, and breaks the cycle of poverty for many students, including me.”