2021-22 President's Scholars

Gisselle Valentin Hurtado

Nicole Christine Coté President’s Scholar

Major: Sociology emphasis in Social Work

College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences

Amid great personal change, Giselle Hurtado strives to become a change agent in social work. Because of a job loss in her family this past year, Giselle moved with them to Thermal, California and received CPP instruction remotely. “I struggled because I had just transferred to CPP,” she says. “I had no job, no car and no place to live. Mentally I was drained because I could not process the change that had happened so quickly.” How did she successfully balance priorities? Through her own hard work as a first-generation student and as her family’s oldest sibling. “Being a role model has pushed me to be the best version of myself possible,” she says. Her mother’s employment has helped Giselle better understand and advocate for “parents and students who work in the fields and still go home to help their families or to do homework.” Grateful for scholarship support, Giselle says she hopes to continue “making my family and my community proud. I am truly honored to attend and represent CPP.”