Title V Project H.O.P.E. (Health Operations and Pipeline to Education), allowing Latino students to become leaders in academic excellence, began Oct. 1, 2002 and continued through Sept. 30, 2007.

From that ending date, began a rough path for Project H.O.P.E. and its supporters, but as of July 1, Project H.O.P.E. became permanent on Cerritos College campus.

The two-year battle for the program to become permanent began on Oct. 17, 2007 when Public Presentations were presented at a board meeting by students, alumni, faculty/staff and the community.

That resulted in a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees to use reliable money sources like Avalon to keep Project H.O.P.E. going for one more year.

During that year, Cerritos College students and the community held a silent protest in support of permanency of Project H.O.P.E.

They also went before the Board of Trustess with public presentations to make Project H.O.P.E. permanent after the year was up.

With almost the year up in summer 2008, Bill Farmer became an impacting component in this situation.

Farmer states, “Project H.O.P.E. had many recommendations about how it could be made permanent into the fabric of the college. I accepted all the recommendations of the Task Force, except for one.

“I could not give them the entire budget they requested for their faculty.”

In doing so, that cut Graciela Vasquez’s position as director of Title V: Project H.O.P.E. to a reassigned position of Director of Adult Education / Diversity Programs, but it also started paving the road for Project H.O.P.E.’s permanent residency on campus.

In Jan. 2009, Farmer announced the plan for Project H.O.P.E. and its permanency.

It was to be effective July 1 and it will be ran by a Faculty Coordinator under the Division of Science, Engineering and Mathematics.

The adopted plan includes a budget of $57,000 for salaries of the faculty.

As of September 1, the program for Project H.O.P.E. has been placed in full effect.

Although it appears to be settled with the program being in a stable position, after a two-year battle, there is still so many unanswered questions that the Project H.O.P.E. students, parents, faculty and alumni have.

Project H.O.P.E. stated, “The money is here. The program is now permanent. Let’s see whats going to happen now.”