Kirk Webley’s future began at a community college. That’s why the San Diego City College counselor has devoted his entire professional life to guiding a new generation of community college students yearning for a better life.
“Whenever I can give someone the support and information that empowers them, that provides them with a little clarity on what path they may benefit from, that’s when I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile, something rewarding, something I should be doing,” Webley said.
Former students vouch for the impact he has had on their lives. Among them is City College counselor and campus coordinator for A2MEND Kalon Bell, who said Webley, then a counselor at Miramar College, played a big role in his career choice. In Webley, Bell saw a fellow Black man guiding others and realized, “I want to help folks that look like me and help them navigate college. And so, I found my purpose.”
Webley also played an instrumental role in guiding former high school dropout and Miramar College student Colin Skinner to UC Berkeley via the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
“I believe education should be provided to and be accessible for everyone, and I’m committed to helping our students seize the opportunity to learn foundational principles that will help them succeed in their educational journey,” said the 53-year-old San Diego resident.
It’s been somewhat of a serpentine journey for the father of three college-age children.
Webley grew up in the Mid City neighborhood of Los Angeles but attended and earned his high school diploma from Glendale Academy, a two-hour commute from home via city bus. “I didn’t understand it at the time, but my mom wanted to expose me to a more diverse population and provide me with a new insight on the opportunity and awareness that comes with connecting with individuals from a multicultural community,” he said.
That community was an upper-middle class neighborhood with students from backgrounds he knew little about at the time. It was a culture shock, he said, to step off the municipal bus line and see students pulling up into the parking lot behind the wheel of BMWs and Mercedes.
But one lesson in particular stuck with him.
“Once you get to meet different individuals and get to know different individuals, you find that people are people.”
Webley did fine in high school and had no plans on attending college until a year after earning his high school diploma, when his mom told him he had to do get out of the house and do something with his life. Webley would transfer from Santa Monica College to UC San Diego, first majoring in mechanical engineering, then biochemistry, before finding his passion in counseling through a job working with high school students through the school’s Early Academic Outreach Program.
“That was my first experience advising students about higher education and developing a pathway. I was sold. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Webley went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling from San Diego State University, interning at City College along the way. After nearly a quarter century as a counselor at Miramar College, the San Diego resident returned to City College last November as the newest member of its counseling faculty.
“City College is at the hub of San Diego,” Webley said. “You’re going to find people from all walks of life. It’s an entirely different environment and allows for me to continue to learn from a very diverse population.”