Congratulations to Vanessa Jimenez, a member of the Citrus College Class of 2024! She is continuing her higher education journey at San Diego State University.

Before arriving at Citrus College in 2021, Vanessa was struggling. "I was going through a really rough patch and my old high school band director, Maurice Limon, suggested that I come to Citrus to play in the wind symphony while I figure out what to do next," she explains. After enrolling, Vanessa decided to check out the college's emerging theatre technologies program. Hoping to become an ensemble manager in the future, she believed it would be a great way to learn more about management. However, the program's introductory course introduced her to a new passion: lighting design. "I immediately fell in love with it," she explains. "With lighting design, I could still incorporate my love for music into my career by working on musicals and concerts."

Vanessa's passion for lighting design was solidified when she had the opportunity to compete at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival's (KACTF) regional and national conferences. During the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 8 conference, she was selected to receive the Student Choice Award and the National KCACTF Award for her lighting design of the college's fall production, "Dracula."

"For the regional festival, I had to create a display board and present it to a panel of professional theater designers," Vanessa said. "Being the recipient of both the Student Choice Award and the National KACTF Award meant that my work was found to be the most impressive at the festival. Because of this, I had the opportunity to compete with the other seven regions at the national level."

Being active in the Citrus College Performing Arts programs and participating in the KCACTF conferences have been excellent learning experiences for Vanessa, who recently began working toward her bachelor's degree in theater arts with an emphasis on design and technology.

"My Citrus College experience has been beyond rewarding. I have learned so much about not only my field of work, but about myself. It has prepared me to further excel in both my academic and career endeavors," Vanessa said. "I am so excited to apply the skills and knowledge I learned here at Citrus, and I hope that I made everyone within the theater program proud."

Good luck, Vanessa! Citrus College is rooting for you!