San Diego City College was not on Brandon Charlens’ list of options after graduating from high school. “I had been accepted to and really wanted to go to Cal State San Marcos,” he said. “Long story short, things didn’t work out the way I had hoped to, so I ended up going to City instead. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

It was a seminal moment for the then-resident of Mira Mesa, who this fall transferred to San Diego State University for a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with plans to continue on for a master’s in the field. His long term goal? “I’d like to get into counseling, where I could help others navigate through any challenges they may be presented with. Community college is definitely an option. City College would be ideal.”

Charlens’ path was anything but easy. Diagnosed with congenital heart disease when he was just 8 days old, Charlens underwent 21 heart and brain surgeries before the age of 12, missing weeks of school at a time. “Navigating school was challenging,” he said. “Every day felt so overwhelming because of all the surgeries and all the procedures I was going through. I didn’t have any sort of long-term plans, it was more of getting by day by day. I didn’t have an opportunity to just be a kid for a long time.”

It wasn’t until middle school that Charlens was able to enjoy a more typical childhood. He hasn’t looked back since. He pursued basketball with a passion and would play point guard on his Horizon Prep high school team, making first-team honors and helping to lead the squad to its first-ever CIF playoff victory. Despite managing a non-verbal learning disability, he fared well academically and was accepted to four universities. His first choice, Cal State San Marcos, was among them.

City College, however, became the place where Charlens thrived. “City allowed me to find my community and make a whole lot of friends.” Programs such as Umoja and HUBU were key to his success, and a statewide A2MEND conference left him further inspired. He also served as an assistant coach/manager on the Knights basketball team, where his father, Mitch Charlens, serves as head coach.

When it came time to transfer, SDSU rose to the top of the list. City College, Charlens said, prepared him well academically. The biggest difference he noticed between the two campuses was scale. “I needed Google Maps the first couple weeks to find the buildings I was looking for, but otherwise the quality of the classes is pretty much the same.”

His advice to future students? “If you’re not 100% sure where you want to go after high school, I really encourage you to start at a community college—especially City. It’s a place with incredible support, where you can build lifelong friendships and grow as a person.”