- My name is Tamika Narvaez-Payne,
and I am a student at Bakersfield College.
Trying to leave an abusive relationship
after I had my children,
I was shot in the back. In a four-year period, I was shot,
had my throat slit, my son died, and my girls were abducted.
When life throws you punches, you have to keep on going.
I moved to Bakersfield in 2007 and decided to start over.
Went for a job I totally deserved,
and they told me I didn't have a degree,
and I couldn't have the job.
That very day that I left that interview,
I walked onto the campus of BC.
If you are someone with children
or you're looking for employment
or you're somebody who has low- income issues,
you get directed in those avenues.
I felt loved and I felt accepted and I felt supported
from the moment that I walked onto the campus.
Every resource that our campus makes available,
I have used over and above probably what they wanted me to.
As a mother of eight children,
there would be no way to accommodate getting my child
to a childcare place.
My childcare facility is on campus.
That's an asset.
That's something that allows me to be successful.
Online learning, what I loved about it
was I could still live my life as a mom.
If kids need to be picked up early,
I didn't have to leave the class.
The best thing I found out about the Bakersfield College
is the AA would transfer.
Mine would be communication, and I have a few colleges
that I would like to pursue.
I want to fight for policy and I want to fight to make a change
in this world.