April 10 – 12, 2026:
After a university visit to UC Santa Cruz on Friday April 10th, four Skyline College and four College of San Mateo MESA students had the opportunity to remain in the Santa Cruz mountains for the weekend, participating in the 30th Annual MESA Student Leadership Retreat, a three-day experience at the Happy Valley Conference Center. This annual retreat brought together around 160 students and staff from community college MESA programs across California.
The retreat offered a full slate of hands-on workshops, including a renewable energy lab, Arduino-based programming, and a chemistry session. Students also participated in leadership and networking workshops, an energetic “evolution game,” a mindfulness and intention-setting session, and a weekend-long field project that culminated in a design engineering challenge on Sunday.
For computer science major Jhoselin Escobar, the workshops opened doors beyond the technical. “Apart from gaining knowledge in programming, chemistry, and renewable energy, I also learned meaningful life lessons,” she said. “I had the opportunity to connect with professors who once walked the same path I am on now, and hearing their experiences encouraged me to keep going.” Earth sciences major Evan Horne was similarly excited, “The workshops are great. I had a chemistry workshop with this awesome professor.”
But the heart of the retreat was the community. Students came from roughly 40 colleges statewide, and most arrived not knowing anyone outside their own campus. The retreat gave them the opportunity to connect and form new friendships not only with their local peers, but with students from across California. “Being surrounded by students who share similar goals and challenges made me feel supported and less alone,” said Jhoselin. Mathematics and mechanical engineering student Abdul Jubary said the experience motivated him to get more engaged: “A lot of it made me realize I haven’t done as much as my peers…and that pushed me.” He’d recommend it to any student who wants to connect with like-minded people working toward the same goals.
Evan reflected that retreat was “extremely beneficial because you are meeting people in the same boat. As a first-generation college student, you get to be in a large pool of people who know exactly what it’s like… and that’s huge. When you make friends here, you might see them all the way through undergrad. These connections will last beyond, maybe even into grad school.”
When students weren’t in workshops, they were making the most of the beautiful forest setting: s’mores and conversations around the campfire, movie nights, stargazing, and hikes through the rain-soaked redwoods. “The best part was the nice walks in the rain, the bonfire talks, and the place itself, which was unbelievably beautiful,” said Jhoselin. Evan agreed, “We’re in the middle of Santa Cruz, in the redwood forest, and it’s raining. It’s just gorgeous.”
Students returned to campus with new skills, new connections, and a clearer sense of the road ahead. As Jhoselin reflected, “Even though the path ahead may not be easy, I can now clearly see that it will be worth it.”
MESA – Math, Engineering, Science Achievement – is an academic enrichment program that helps educationally underrepresented students excel in math and science and graduate from college with degrees in calculus-based fields. Founded in 1970, the MESA program serves pre-college, community college, and university students at over 100 sites throughout California. Skyline College’s MESA Program is part of the MESA California Community College Programs (MCCP).
Interested in future MESA events and opportunities? Stop by the MESA Center in 7-309, visit www.skylinecollege.edu/mesa or email skymesa@smccd.edu.
