Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), located in Walnut, California, is the largest single-district community college in the state. Founded in 1946, it serves nearly 75,000 students across 20 communities in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Known for its robust program offerings, commitment to access, and innovation, Mt. SAC is home to a wide range of programs that support diverse student populations.
One of the most powerful programs I encountered during my visit was Rising Scholars, which supports students who have experienced incarceration or have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system. Rising Scholars destigmatizes these students’ pasts and helps them envision a future filled with opportunity.
The college launched Rising Scholars five years ago with funding from Los Angeles County and in partnership with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Los Angeles County Probation Department, Los Angeles Parole Office, local nonprofits, and drug and alcohol treatment centers. Since then, the program has helped more than 1,000 individuals pursue higher education. In 2025 alone, 58 associate degrees were awarded to 37 students.
What began with just 20 students in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, has grown to have served more than 300 students. Some are on campus earning high school diplomas, associate degrees, or preparing to transfer. The program has also expanded to serve incarcerated youth in juvenile camps through dual enrollment courses.
Rising Scholars offers three educational pathways: high school diploma/GED completion, career and technical education (e.g., air conditioning and refrigeration, computer networking, culinary arts, welding), and four-year college transfer. Each Scholar selects their educational pathway based on their strengths, desires, and educational and career goals.
The program also employs people who have experienced incarceration, allowing students to see themselves represented among college employees.
Support That Transforms
An essential part of the program are the services and benefits offered to help students achieve their educational and career goals. These include:
- Advocacy in the form of community referrals, legal aid, and expungement clinics
- Enrichment workshops in financial literacy, resume writing, interview preparation, mock interviews, organizational skills/time management, and communication and assertiveness
- Counseling
- Peer mentoring
- Cultural outings to create social solidarity and cohesion, foster social inclusion, community empowerment, enhance confidence, civic pride, and tolerance
- Career guidance, tutoring, and access to technology
Dr. Joe Louis Hernandez, Director of Mt. SAC’s Rising Scholars Program, describes the students he serves as “roses rising out of the concrete”—individuals who have experienced incarceration or been directly impacted by the justice system. “As we water them, cultivate the soil, as we crack the concrete for them, they grow,” he says. Some of these students have overcome obstacles that not everyone faces on their way to Mt. SAC, and Rising Scholars serves as the launching point from which these students can accomplish their dreams.
“If nobody ever tells you about your opportunities, then you will never have the chance to take them,” he adds. “That is what we are doing: We are giving people the knowledge that they can find success in areas that they thought were previously closed to them based on the stigma of incarceration.”
Dr. Hernandez knows firsthand about how it feels to be a formerly incarcerated Mt. SAC student. “When I was a student here, there was no program like Rising Scholars. I was always wondering if there was anyone like me here. Who represented me? Who was in leadership positions that represented me?”
With Dr. Hernandez at the helm of the program, students can see they too can be a college administrator. “I tell them, if you can be a director, you can be a classified staff member or a faculty member,” he says. “I’m like our students. By visualizing me, they can visualize the heights they can attain. If you search my name, you won’t see a mugshot. You will see all my accomplishments”.
“We embrace the stigma so we can shatter it.”
Staff, students, and graduates are proud to share their experience with the Mt. SAC Rising Scholars Program.
Carlos Lopez, a proud first-generation college student and Mt. SAC alum, currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Human Services at Cal State Fullerton, shared that “your past does not define your future.”
Raised by a single mother in Los Angeles, Carlos is the third of four children—three of whom went to prison. Deeply impacted by gang culture, he followed his brothers into a path that led to incarceration for over 18 years.
After his release, Carlos began rebuilding his life, starting at Goodwill where he quickly rose from assistant manager to operations manager in under a year. He later stumbled upon Mt. SAC and immediately felt a sense of belonging. Determined to break old patterns and integrate into the campus community, Carlos joined programs like ACES and Associated Students, where he found peer support, mentorship, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Initially feeling judged and out of place, Carlos made a conscious effort to become approachable and open to growth. Through the guidance of campus mentors, he began to recognize his own worth and the potential others saw in him.
Now a full-time staff member at Mt. SAC, Carlos is committed to serving students, especially those impacted by the justice system. He honors those who came before him and strives to be an example for those coming behind him. “It’s in my heart to serve our students and be of service in this life.”
“Your past does not define your future. Every step forward is a victory.”
Walk into the Rising Scholars office and you’re likely to meet a smiling Alice Rainwater.
At 56, Alice – who likes to be known by her last name – is currently pursuing two degrees, one in sociology and the other in liberal arts. In addition to working part-time at a treatment facility, she helps fellow Rising Scholars.
“I know what it’s like being scared, not feeling like you don’t belong. I tell them, ‘I’m worthy and you are too.’ A lot of students need to really hear that because they are still struggling.”
Rainwater was referred to Rising Scholars by her probation officer and while she had not attended school in years, she found the peer support invaluable.
“I came to Rising Scholars, and I was among my peers. I didn’t feel intimidated. We all had something in common and that was handcuffs. It was a thing of the past and now we were on a new journey.”
That peer support continues to buoy Rainwater and it is reflected in her success: “When I got my first A, I was excited. When I got all A’s, I was super excited.”
Megan Lohans credits the Rising Scholars program for providing the support she needed during her educational journey.
“I never would have imagined that being previously incarcerated would have helped far more than it would negatively impact me, but that is exactly what it has done for me ever since I stepped foot on campus,” Megan says. “What has always been an obstacle became a source of community, inspiration and motivation. Being a parent scholar, especially a single parent scholar, is not an easy task, but I have never been alone in my time here. I have always had a committed group of people I could rely on, and even though I did not necessarily have the most active on-campus role at times I have always known I could just drop by unannounced in the Rising Scholars office if I ever needed support.”
Megan completed 2,240 supervised hours as an addictions counselor, passed the state exam and is now licensed with the state. She will continue her story at Cal Poly Pomona.
“Graduating Mt. SAC means accomplishing the impossible,” she says. “I had a judge tell me once that he would bet his robes that I would never make it out of Skid Row. But I did make it out, and I have made it so incredibly far since then. This is the end of this chapter and the beginning of a new one. I may be graduating from here, but I am going to a new school and chasing a new dream because I no longer limit myself to labels that have been placed upon me. My mistakes no longer define me, and my past no longer limits me.”
“Graduating Mt. SAC to me is proof that there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome, no hill that cannot be climbed.”
To learn more about Mt. San Antonio College and their Rising Scholars program, visit their website at https://www.mtsac.edu/.
