Biographies

Alejandro

Hi! My name is Alejandro, I am a current film major here at PCC. Outside of work and school I like going on runs and hikes, watching my favorite movies at Vidiots, and street photography. I love speaking as much as I love researching and writing about interesting topics in politics, culture, and film. I enjoy the process of collaborating and am looking forward to working with y’all!!

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Ariel

Hi there! I’m Ariel, a second-year Honors Political Science student. I immigrated from Myanmar to the States last year, in 2025. Born and raised in a country historically overwhelmed by civil unrest, my passion for international relations, diplomacy, and social justice has always been deeply rooted in who I am. Aside from these aspirations, I am also an avid writer, running my own Substack page! When I’m not on campus fulfilling my Associated Students and Club Officer responsibilities, I’m undoubtedly typing away a new piece of poetry or prose on my laptop. I look forward to learning something new from everyone I tutor!

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Aster

Hey y’all! My name is Aster (they/them) and I’m currently an online student at UH Mānoa majoring in Philippine Language and Culture. I’m bilingual in Tagalog and English, and I hope to become a community college professor. I love, love, love chocolate milk, boba, listening to music 24/7, and taking naps. In my spare time, I enjoy playing video games like Minecraft, reading, and daydreaming of the day I can finally adopt a cat of my own. I look forward to working with y’all! Feel free to give me music and book recommendations 😀

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Bastian

I’m Bastian, a Humanities and Digital Media Art student with an interest in multimedia. My writing has been published both in PCC’s own Inscape Magazine and through my last occupation at a local non-profit news organization. Feel free to chat with me about interactive storytelling, collage, or the minutiae of cities! As your tutor, I hope to provide tools that will help you analyze your work and communicate more strongly with each piece. Let’s both write something to be proud of!

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Camille

Hi there! My name is Camille and I’m currently a Humanities major here at PCC with the goal of transferring to ultimately pursue my Masters in Library and Information Sciences. When I’m not tutoring in the WSC or drowning in homework, you can usually find me reading (for fun!) or doing something creative. I’m happy whenever I’m working on a crafting project of some kind, but I especially love working with beads to create accessories for myself and my friends. Come visit me in the WSC for tutoring and stay to geek out about your newest creative passion or technique you’re learning!

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Carmen

Hi! I am pleased to be welcomed to the WSC! My name is Carmen, and I have the pleasure to be a new tutor this semester. I became a tutor mostly because I enjoy helping people and being there for others. Some fun facts about myself are: I crochet for fun, I love nature and sometimes go on hikes. I love music and trying new foods—my current favorites being Thai food and Mediterranean food.

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Danielle

Hey everyone! My name’s Danielle and I’m a first-year student at PCC double majoring in Business Administration and Economics. I’ve never met a vocabulary list I didn’t like, writing is how I express myself most vividly and I love helping others find that same clarity and confidence on the page. Outside of the WSC I’m a huge fan of all things 80s, mango milk tea, and going to the movies. I’m also bilingual in English and Spanish. Now, let’s get to work!

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Gavin

Hello! I’m Gavin, an Economics major and pre-law student aiming to transfer to a pure Economics program next fall. I joined the Writing Success Center because I love the process of building students’ confidence and turning a confusing prompt into a clear, structured essay. Aside from the writing process, I spend my time playing poker and throat singing for fun.

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Jerry

My name is Jerry Torres and I am the CORE empowerment tutor. I plan on transferring to a University of California campus where I will be majoring in Environmental Engineering. I want to practice and advocate for incorporating sustainability, pollution control, and managing overall environmental impact in today’s society. I have a cat named Smokey. I love watching anime, ask me about Madoka Magica, Cardcaptor Sakura, or Sailor Moon…I promise not to yap too much!

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Nelly

Hi! My name is Nelly (she/her) and I am a Biology student here at PCC! I used to work as an ambassador but fell in love with the WSC and applied to be a tutor. Outside of school or work, I love to draw, listen to music, sew, and bake with my friends. I’m looking forward to helping you all!

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Rei

Hi PCC! Rei here, an international student from Indonesia who just graduated with her AA in Psych; I’m deeply interested in investigating how the brain (and/or mental health) interacts with the arts, especially dance. I’ve always been that kid with the zoomies who climbed trees and hugged goats, but I also love taking long walks during golden hour to wind down. I’m also a big foodie, coffee lover, and definitely a big Jesus girlie. I can’t wait to meet you all and see your authentic creativity in action. See you at the WSC! 🙂

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Violet

Hello! My name is Violet (they/them), and I’m a biology major here at PCC, with a focus specifically towards marine biology. I have always loved reading and writing, and even more than that I’ve always loved being able to help out my friends with their own writing projects to help them to feel more confident and comfortable in their writing. I’m a huge fan of horror, whether it’s in video games, books, or movies, and my favorite thing to do is to play horror games for my friends to watch. Outside of that, I love drawing, writing, and just playing video games in general. I look forward to assisting you here at the Writing Success Center!

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Ximena

Hi everyone! My name is Ximena, I’m a political science major here at PCC. I love spending time in nature, especially if my dogs are with me. I also love the little spots Pasadena has that are sort of hidden. I hope to transfer to a four-year university, but I am excited to live my process with peace and pace.

 

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Daniela

Hello everyone! My name is Daniela (she/her/hers) and I am a proud first-generation Mexican student here at PCC. I am a former Math Science Upward Bound alumni and a proud Puentista! Here at PCC I am a part of the PASS program, Program for Academic Support Services, which has played a significant role in my current transfer application process via counseling services and transfer focused workshops. My educational goals are to transfer out to a UC, my dream school being UCSB, and earn a Bachelor’s degree in Chicano/Chicana/Chicane studies. After earning my BA, I wish to continue my studies and work to earn my Masters in counseling so I may work at community college campuses to provide academic support to students. Some fun facts about me~ I LOVE going to the movies, and I am an AMC A-Lister. With this subscription, I was able to see Project Hail Mary six times! I also LOVE the Stardew Valley video game. I love to watch anime, one of my favorites being Sailor Moon. I also love musicals. Recently, I saw Water for Elephants and it was AMAZING!!!

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Darius

Hi, my name is Darius, and I like to do things that make me laugh and make me happy. I try to avoid anything stressful on the regular. For me, a good day is when the weather is nice, and I have all my responsibilities completed. I plan on completing college and getting a career. I can be quiet and reserved. I deliver a lot of awkward smiles because it’s like a cure-all for social interactions. Shout-out to my fellow introverts!

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Matea

Hello everyone! My name is Matea and I’m a freelance artist, Writing Success Center ambassador and PCC graduate. I moved to Pasadena from Colorado to pursue a career in entertainment arts and fell in love with the people and community here at PCC. I hope to continue learning about and pursuing art and design.

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William

Hi, my Name is William and I’m the youngest of 14 siblings. I worked code enforcement for 8 years for los Angeles County and I’m a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. I also write, produce, arrange, and perform beautiful music.

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John Davis

Education:
California Polytechnic University, Pomona, MA In English, double option in 19th Century British Literature and World Literature
University of California, Irvine, BA in English
Pasadena City College, AA in English

Prior to starting fresh at PCC in 2002, I attended a computer science program at a now defunct private college. Afterwards, I spent a couple of years working as a programmer and database designer. Unhappy with the career I had chosen, I went back to school, starting right here at PCC. I wasn’t sure what major to choose at first, so I took classes that sounded fun and interesting. As I took classes, I found myself changing majors pretty much each semester: Chinese language, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, for example. Finally, I started taking my general education requirements in earnest, and I fell in love with English. After taking English 1A and 1B (now C1000 and C1003) in back-to-back 8-week courses, I didn’t change majors again as I had finally found my passion! It was after English 1B, too, that I first joined the campus Writing Center, first as an embedded tutor, later as a regular center tutor, and eventually an instructional aide working with English professors in their classes. In spite of initially taking classes “for fun,” I finished at PCC in 2 years and transferred to U.C. Irvine with a full tuition academic scholarship.

By the time I finished my BA at UCI, I knew that I wanted to come back to PCC as a professor, so I selected my graduate program accordingly. While working on my MA for three years at Cal Poly, I worked full-time at Long Beach City College as the college’s first Writing and Reading Success Center coordinator. After grad school in 2010, I returned to PCC, first as an adjunct faculty member and finally as a full-time faculty member in the English Division.

When I’m not working in the WSC or teaching classes, I love to read, learn languages (Mandarin, Tagalog, and German thus far), travel, watch shows and movies, and of course spend time with my kids.

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Sapna Jethani

Hello! As an avid reader and writer, I graduated with both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Cal Poly Pomona in English. Writing centers are my favorite place to be—I’ve been a writing tutor, faculty, and now I get to support PCC’s writing center! During my academic trajectory, I took a lot of pit stops—I am a certified death doula, which means I help hospice and other dying patients and their families in the difficult transition process.

When I’m not busy working, I love to go to concerts, try new restaurants, watch horror movies, talk astrology, relax with my two cats, and visit museums with my daughter.

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Giselle Miralles

Education:
CSU Long Beach, BA in English (Literature & Creative Writing)
CSU Long Beach, MA in English

I began my educational journey at CSULB, where I discovered my interest in social justice, intersectionality, critical race theory, and 20th Century American Ethnic Literature, the latter eventually becoming my emphasis in graduate school. As an undergraduate, I became a Writing Tutor for CSULB’s Educational Opportunity Program, which is when I realized I wanted to work in education after college.

As a grad student, I also worked at the Orange County Juvenile Hall as an English Language Development Assistant, an experience that was transformational for me as an educator. Before landing at PCC, I worked at Fullerton College’s Academic Support Center as an Instructional Assistant. When I’m not busy working, I enjoy traveling, camping, spoiling my dog, playing video games, and gradually making my way through my never-ending list of “good” TV series.

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Genesis Montalvo

Education:
Loyola Marymount University, BA in English and Spanish
San Francisco State University, MA in English (Creative Writing and Education)

The eldest of three—and the only girl—in a traditional Mexican-American family, I learned to take risks to get what I want. One of those risks—and future blessings—was attending Loyola Marymount University. As a first gen college student and graduate, LMU helped foster my love for education through First to Go (a learning community for first generation college students), and the continuous support from faculty mentors.

But the risks don’t stop there: on a whim, I decided to attend graduate school at San Francisco State University for my Master’s in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and Education. It’s here where I discovered my love for writing and learning resource centers as I worked at a literacy non-profit, 826Valencia, as a Program Associate, and City College of San Francisco as an embedded tutor. Unable to take the fog, I moved back to sunny Southern California after graduation where I began working at Santa Ana College as a Learning Facilitator and Long Beach City College as a Faculty Intern. To keep the calm during the storms, I enjoy running, hot yoga, writing poetry (keep an eye out for a published manuscript soon), and watching anime!

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Arkova Scott

I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Pasadena. I attended all of the local schools for elementary and high school and was even a Pasadena City College alumni! After completing my AA degree, I transferred to Cal Poly Pomona as a Computer Information Systems major and eventually completed my Master’s degree at Cal State Los Angeles as an Instructional Designer. I’ve worked at Pasadena City College for over 23 years in a variety of positions, including teaching part-time for the Business Information Technology Division. I currently hold the Center Technician position in the Writing Center where I work very closely each day with our wonderful and dynamic tutors, faculty and staff!

I love to travel, go to concerts in the park, and hang out with my close friends and family. I love to read  art and music books and take long walks on the beach!

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