Monica Moysen found what she was looking for when she walked through the doors at San Diego College of Continuing Education’s High School Diploma/Equivalency Program. Thanks to the care, support and enthusiasm showering her when she arrived, the 43-year-old former high school dropout discovered a pathway to San Diego State University (SDSU), where she is wrapping up her junior year as a communication major – with a minor in Latin American and Chicana and Chicano studies – and is planning to parlay her success into a postgraduate degree and career as a college professor.

“I’m doing things I never thought would be possible,” said Moysen.

She’s faced more than her fair share of challenges along the way: growing up in the barrios of Shelltown and Logan Heights; dropping out of Morse High School as a 17-year-old senior; moving away from home, renting a room and working full time at a Spring Valley carwash; marrying at 19 and becoming a mom at 20. 

A variety of jobs would follow – McDonald’s, Walmart, Northgate Market – but a void remained when looking toward the future. So she enrolled in a three-month certified nursing assistant program at Sweetwater Union High School District’s National City Adult School, and for the next dozen or so years, she was working as a certified nursing assistant – until she fractured her foot and shattered an ankle in a pair of unfortunate accidents.

“I couldn’t work as a CNA in a hospital setting anymore,” she said. “I was doing all this walking. Tons of walking, tons of lifting. I couldn’t do that anymore.”

After more than two decades of living without a high school diploma or equivalent, Moysen resolved to earn a GED en route to securing a college degree. So she turned to the College of Continuing Education and its flagship campus, the Educational Cultural Complex (ECC) in Southeastern San Diego. That was in 2017. “I needed to get a certificate or a degree in a different health care profession that didn’t require me to be on my feet all day, but I really didn’t have any kind of comprehensive plan,” she said.

That changed quickly. Moysen earned her GED within a year, took a San Diego City College course at the ECC campus, and began working with counselors on mapping out a strategy to earn a degree.

“I was trying to figure out, ‘Okay, how do I apply to a college?’ They were talking about FAFSA and I said, ‘Okay, what’s that?’ Just things I didn’t know. That’s where the counselors and everyone else at ECC were so helpful. They were like, ‘This is how you apply to college. This is what a FAFSA is, and this is how you fill out a FAFSA form.” 

Moysen held out particular praise for counselor Sany Ramirez. 

“She went through a similar situation. She was a first-generation college student and understood me. I was in her office every other day, and with a smile, she always told me, ‘It’s okay, relax, we’re going to get through this.’” 

Said Ramirez: “Monica Moysen represents the best of what San Diego College of Continuing Education offers.”

A year after she arrived at the ECC, Moysen transferred to San Diego Mesa College, where she was majoring in social work and holding down a solid 3.0 GPA. A year later, she applied to SDSU, but failed to get in. She applied the next year, too, with the same result. She talked about her options with mentors at Mesa, who noted that social work was an impacted major at the university, with an abundance of students vying for a limited number of classroom spots. A Mesa College counselor suggested she think about doing something else. “He asked if I ever thought about communication?”

Moysen quickly pivoted, enrolled in the required communication courses and fell in love with the classes. She participated in the speech and debate team and immersed herself in the subject. She reapplied to SDSU in the winter of 2024 as a health communication major. The third time was the charm; Moysen got word she was accepted and began her junior year at SDSU last fall. She’s already met with professors and counselors about pursuing a master’s degree or a Ph.D. to reach her goal of teaching Chicano Studies at the college level.

Ramirez remains among her biggest fans. “What impresses me most about Monica is her dedication to motivating others to do the same as she is,” Ramirez said. “Her enthusiasm and passion for higher education are contagious. She gives back to her community and encourages other adult learners to never give up, that with support and guidance, it is all possible.”

Moysen concedes it all seems a little too unreal.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here talking with you today as a student at San Diego State University if it weren’t for the experience I had at Continuing Education. They never gave up on me, and if they wouldn’t give up on me, how could I give up on myself?”

When she’s not busy with school, work or family, Moysen takes time to meet with students at Continuing Education’s High School Diploma/Equivalency Program.

“I want them to know that it could be done. I was once a student at the ECC and now I’m a student at San Diego State University. I want to let them know that is possible, even though we are older adults, even though we have to work, even though we have families to take care of. I want them to know they should never give up.”