George Robles, EOPS Coordinator, considers De Anza College his second home. “It is like I have grown up at De Anza College. I have been here all of my adult life.,” he says.
He began working at De Anza College 30 years ago when he was in his early 20s, in the Career Placement Center, gathering job offers from perspective employers. He set up employment interviews with student candidates and sent them out. He later worked in the Financial Aid Office, then transferred to the Extended Opportunity Program and Services Office, which helps low-income or educationally disadvantaged students achieve their academic and vocational goals.
In his position, he helps students make choices about their futures. He’s not at De Anza College for the money, he says, but to help students succeed and reach their goals.
“It really gets to you in the heart, and has certainly given me a different perspective of things, money can’t make up for what I do and those students who have touched my life,” he says.
When Robles first came to De Anza College, he didn’t think that he would stay long, but the exciting, changing life at De Anza and the camaraderie with a staff that he calls “an immense support system with common goals,” kept him interested.
Students aren’t Robles’ only fans: he’s received De Anza’s President’s Award., the Employee Of Month Award and the Classified Employee of the Month Award – bestowed by his peers.
Robles has a 13 year old son, a small Jack Russell terrier, three brothers and four sisters. He has always looked up to his mother as his ultimate hero: she taught how important it was to be a good person and give back to the community.
When students leave his office, after sharing important and confidential aspects of their lives and receiving Robles’ advice, he often thinks to himself, “I hope did the right thing.”
Thus, the most rewarding moments of his career are when former students return and say to him, “I couldn’t have done it without you,” or, “This is how you have helped me.”