Each year the Community College Counselors Advisors Academic Association for Athletes (3C4A) selects an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary efforts and contributions to the organization.

This year, Cerritos College Athletics Counselor Virginia Romero fit that profile and was presented with the 2001Outstanding Counselor Award at the 9th annual 3C4A conference in March.

This 3C4A organization started 12 years ago with about 30 members, has since grown to about 350 members, and is presently expanding nationally. California’s community colleges continue to make great strides in preserving the role of the athlete as a student first.

The implementation of the 2.0 grade point average and the adoption of statewide academic advising for athletes have drawn significant attention throughout the United States. Taking part in this effort, the 3C4A seeks to train and advise athletic academic counselors.

In recognition for her outstanding achievement, Romero was presented with a plaque at the 2001 award celebration held in Reno, Nevada. The plaque she received was engraved with a famous quote from Thomas Edison, which read, “Don’t give up! Nothing is more essential for success than the ability to stick to it. Seventy-five percent of the world’s failures wouldn’t have failed at all if they had only kept at what they were trying to do. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Romero has adopted the motto of this great inventor as part of her counseling strategy and has shown great strength in her ability to train, encourage and motivate the athletic students at Cerritos College and the counselors in nearby community colleges.