When Jacqueline Mendoza first enrolled at Amarillo College, she was a business major without a clear career direction.“I didn’t really know where I was going from there,” she said. “Then I got into technology and computers because my dad already does some stuff with that. The more I got into the classes, the more I liked where this was going.”

There is no doubt that students who begin their exploration of academia at a community college can and do matriculate to universities of great distinction.

A sterling example of that is former Amarillo College student Roman Leal, who in May received his juris doctorate from Yale Law School. The accomplishment was achieved just three short years after he scored in the top three percent on the law school admissions test – the LSAT.