SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees honored Santa Ana College student Justin Ortiz and Santiago Canyon College student Andrew Arnold at its Nov. 9 meeting in recognition of Veterans Day. Trustee David Crockett presented Ortiz with a certificate of recognition on behalf of the Board, and Trustee John Hanna presented Arnold with his certificate. Both certificates recognized the students for their military service.
Justin Ortiz, Santa Ana College
Ortiz served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2016 to 2020, rising to the rank of corporal and serving in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He told trustees that the transition to civilian life was difficult. At Santa Ana College, staff helped him understand his education benefits and connect with campus resources. Through it all, he said, his daughter remained his biggest motivation.
“I found a community that believed in me when I needed it most,” Ortiz said.
As a full-time student, Ortiz helped revive the college’s student veterans association and worked with Veterans Resource Center staff on projects supporting student veterans. He said he wanted veterans to have a place to belong after leaving the military and hopes to pass that work on to other students when he graduates.
Andrew Arnold, Santiago Canyon College
Arnold grew up in Southern California and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17, following several generations of military service in his family. He trained as a nuclear machinist and served aboard the USS Kentucky, where he helped overhaul the submarine’s reactor and completed multiple strategic deterrence deployments. He supervised nuclear propulsion systems and operations and earned two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals during six years of service.
Arnold told trustees he plans to use his veterans education benefits to earn an associate degree and pursue a longtime interest in robotics. He credited admissions staff and counselors with helping him get started and thanked faculty, the Math Success Center and MESA for their academic support. He also thanked his family, calling his four children “the main reason for everything that I’m doing.”
Contact:
Eugene W. Fields
Interim Chief Communications Officer
Rancho Santiago Community College District
714.628.5936
fields_eugene@rsccd.edu
About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Rancho Santiago Community College District is one of California’s largest community college districts and includes Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College. RSCCD provides credit and noncredit education, transfer pathways, career education and workforce training to students throughout its communities.