In the 2026—2027 academic year, Occidental has welcomed a number of non-traditional students, according to Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright, director of the Intercultural Community Center (ICC). Gonzalez-Wright said as a result of partnerships the admissions office is creating and has created, like the partnership with Pasadena Community College (PCC), the number of transfer students at Occidental will continue to grow.
Gonzalez-Wright said the ICC has been implementing new policies and programs in order to better accommodate the needs of non-traditional students, such as a biweekly non-traditional student huddle, which will begin Nov. 6.
“It was very intentional that we chose the language of ‘non-traditional’ versus ‘transfer,’ because not all non-traditional students are transfers,” Gonzalez-Wright said. “They might be freshmen who are just coming from a different experience [or] background than the high-school-to-college pipeline.”
Alex Murillo (junior) said he transferred to Occidental from PCC August 2026 and is majoring in sociology and minoring in public health. An LA native, Murillo said his neighborhood was affected by gang violence, and he found himself in dangerous situations growing up. According to Murillo, he dropped out of high school to work and support his family when he and his high school sweetheart had a baby in the 11th grade.
Murillo said he went to jail multiple times after abusing drugs and alcohol. Murillo said he has been sober ever since he left jail in October 2022.
Murillo said he moved on to a transitional living home after spending time in a rehabilitation center in Pasadena. Murillo said he has since worked as an EMT, a phlebotomist and a caregiver for a family. Murillo said he started attending PCC in 2024.
“What made me start attending PCC was [that] I needed a new community,” Murillo said. “I needed a new way of life, and I realized I’ve always been [interested in] getting into school […] this time, I really wanted to get my AA degree. I wanted to pursue something.”
Murillo said one thing he learned during his time at PCC is that it is okay to be vulnerable and ask for help, something he felt the cultural values of masculinity he had seen growing up had prevented.
“One thing that I learned through education was there are people out there pulling for me, so I decided to ask for help, and here I am [at Occidental],” Murillo said.
Robert De La Barcena (junior) is another non-traditional student, who transferred from PCC in August 2026. According to Barcena, he started attending PCC in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but had to stop to work to be able to afford more years of education.
De La Barcena said he met Murillo while they were both attending PCC, and that Murillo inspired him to join and work for the Men of Color Action Network (MOCAN), a program that helps first-generation students navigate the college experience.
“Initially, when I started going to classes at [PCC], I would just go to class, do my work and come home,” De La Barcena said. “It wasn’t until I met Alex that he introduced me to all the other programs that they had there.”
According to De La Barcena, he was sentenced to jail for gang-related violence when he was 16 and finished high school through the California Youth Training School (YTS). De La Barcena said he attended self-help groups and took correspondence courses through Coastline Community College with a focus on psychology while in jail, and he planned to start attending PCC after his release.
De La Barcena said one person who inspired him to pursue higher education was his older brother, a Navy veteran with a master’s degree in computer science.
“Because [my brother] had kids that already went through college […] he said, ‘I’ll help you set up all your college stuff. All you have got to do is just go,’” De La Barcena said. “He was instrumental in me coming back to school.”
Murillo said he chose Occidental because of its campus, its sociology department and because he knew that there were not many non-traditional students like him.
“I didn’t see people like me here. I want to open that door, or at least set a path for people that are non-traditional,” Murillo said. “If there’s a program here that allows me to come here, and it is going to allow me to diversify [the college] and share my experiences and share my culture, well, why not? I’m going to roll through some punches in the mud. I’m the first non-traditional 50-year-old that comes to Oxy.”
Murillo said he decided to attend Occidental due to his desire to stay in LA, where he has already made a name for himself as “Tio Joker.” According to Murillo, he organized a GoFundMe fundraiser for children whose families had been affected by ICE to take them to Disneyland so they could have a fun summer in 2025. Murillo said he has started a non-profit organization inspired by his nickname.
“[The children] call me “Tio Joker,” and this is Together Inspiring Others, and it has the acronym TIO, which means uncle,” Murillo said. “My nonprofit is to help people get back into college or education.”
Murillo said he feels that his life has changed a lot since he started attending college.
“I am a totally different person, but I think I’ve always been vocal,” Murillo said. “I was just vocal for the wrong reasons. Now I’m vocal for what matters, and that’s education, something that wasn’t presented to me [growing up].”
De La Barcena said the administration has been very willing to listen to the needs of non-traditional students. According to De La Barcena, the administration has asked him and Murillo to serve on ASOC’s Student Transfer Advisory Board.
According to De La Barcena, he and Murillo are working with faculty to create a non-traditional students club so they can host events for non-traditional students.
“I don’t know if it’s fun yet to be at Oxy aside from academia,” Murillo said. “It’s like, don’t forget about us. We’re still students, and what makes it hard is you’re seeing a guy with a gray goatee [who is] a little older [and] they’re not used to it […] and this is not something Oxy sells.”
Gonzalez-Wright said she envisions Murillo and De La Barcena making big changes at Occidental and paving the way for other students.
“[Murillo and De La Barcena] are powerhouses here at Oxy, and I’m really proud of them and really excited for them to be taking that leap of faith in this different stage of their life that maybe they wouldn’t have in the past,” Gonzalez-Wright said. “[They are] encouraging folks, and reminding them that education is not just for one type of person, student, financial background or experience, but rather education is meant to be for everybody.”
Contact Francine Ghazarian at ghazarian@oxy.edu
