SMC Journey Map: A Decade of Equity and Redesign Efforts
The SMC Journey Map was created as an act of accountability and a reflection of our shared progress toward meeting our student equity and redesign goals. It offers an overview of key developments and shifts in our equity and institutional redesign work over the past decade—since we first received state funding and the mandate to establish concrete equity and guided pathways goals.
While not exhaustive, the Journey Map highlights pivotal policies, milestones, and initiatives influenced by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office—beginning with the Student Success Act of 2012 and evolving through multiple iterations of the Vision for Success, first introduced by Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley and now reimagined as Vision 2030 under Chancellor Sonya Christian.
This map is both a progress report and an invitation. It aims to foster alignment, transparency, and shared understanding across our many equity-focused efforts. Because these initiatives are deeply personal and community-driven, and we recognize the journey has been influence by many diverse perspectives. Thus, we invite all members of the SMC community to contribute your “Origin Story” as it relates to the milestones represented in the Journey Map. Your stories are vital in fully capturing our collective journey and continuing to build a more equitable institution.
What is an Origin Story?
An origin story is more than just a background—it’s a tapestry of circumstances, choices, and chance that shape who we are. By reflecting on the reality and nuance of these stories, we gain not only insight but also the power to grow and to inspire others.
In her well-known TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie argues for the importance of a multiplicity of stories, voices, and perspectives in order to do justice to the fullest range of experience and explode reductive stereotypes of people and places. “Stories matter,” she says. “Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
The longest part of our journey still lies ahead, and it’s essential to carry forward the emotions and experiences that have shaped us. Our origin stories have defined us—as professionals, and people—but they should also challenge us to imagine and create what comes next. After all, we’re not just the products of our past; we are the authors of what’s still to come.
Thank you for considering sharing your “origin story.”