When the pandemic challenged his ambitions, a student found new direction in automotive technology
As a child growing up in Santa Maria, CA, Ricky Bahena knew about Allan Hancock College (ACH), a community college that serves the Santa Barbara region, and its strong presence in the community. After his parents divorced when he was 4, Bahena’s mother enrolled at AHC to earn her registered nursing degree—an experience that forever shaped her life. Eventually, Bahena would follow her path, choosing AHC for its automotive technology program.
“My mother loved it,” says Bahena, now 28. “She’s very thankful to this day for having gone to Hancock because that completely turned her life around, being a single mom having to raise me.”
Bahena’s own journey to Hancock College began during the COVID-19 pandemic. After graduating high school in 2014, Bahena spent three years attending a community college in Chicago, where he earned an associate’s degree in business administration. But as the world started to shut down in 2020, Bahena was restless. He knew he needed something more.
“My life was getting stale—I wasn’t going in the direction I wanted,” Bahena said. “So I decided to go back to Santa Maria and go back to college.”
“My instructors were all career mechanics at some point, some of them even still to this day. I trusted their expertise.”
Ricky Bahena, Graduate, Allan Hancock College’s Automative Technology Program
In 2021, Bahena, who’s always had a passion for cars and driving, enrolled in AHC’s automotive technology program. The college offers a two-year hybrid course that combines online lectures with in-person labs where students get to work under the hoods of cars.
There, in addition to making friends and networking connections, Bahena says he also received a wealth of knowledge from his teachers.
“My instructors were all career mechanics at some point, some of them even still to this day,” Bahena says. “I trusted their expertise. If I had any questions, I could always talk to them.”
Bahena completed the automotive technology program in 2023, then enrolled in AHC’s commercial truck driving program in 2024. Later that year, he passed his commercial truck driving test with flying colors.
Looking back, Bahena—like his mother before him—says he appreciates his experience attending AHC and the opportunities it has afforded him.
“Education is wealth,” Bahena said. “Education is the one thing that’ll stick with you through life, and if you have the opportunity to pursue it, pursue it.”
Until recently, Bahena drove a box truck for a document shredding company that provides on-site services to a variety of local law offices, doctors’ offices and military bases. Now, he works at a grocery store, while he continues to search for work as a truck driver.
Ultimately, Bahena dreams of some day running a service center at an automotive dealership, putting his love for cars and expertise in automotive technology to good use. He adds that he has not closed the door on pursuing further education if it can help with his career.
“I have a motto for myself in life and that is ‘always be learning,’” Bahena says. “As long as there’s a need for me to keep going to keep going to college, I will do that.”
For more information on Allan Hancock College visit www.hancockcollege.edu
Written by Jimmy Flynn
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Careers in Business-Technology |
