Anthony Lombardo

Norco College Alumni Spotlight (2015)

Anthony Lombardo, a Norco College graduate, has won a $150,000 Jack Kent Cooke Continuing Graduate Scholarship. Two years ago he was one of 76 community college students nationwide who received a Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which he used to attend UC Berkeley.

Lombardo graduated from Cal last week with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. His next stop is the Berkeley School of Law.

“I’d like to practice civil law, specifically as it relates to litigation,” he said. “I'll be able to work for all sorts of clients—anywhere from large corporations to small businesses.”

UC Berkeley and law school is a far cry from Lombardo’s initial goal when he enrolled at Norco College in 2011 to study architecture. However, he said he found his true calling after being elected vice president of Finance for the Associated Students of Norco College (ASNC). During his tenure, he advocated for scholarships for transferring students.

“I recognized that a lot of students were facing financial difficulty because of the economy, so with the help of my advisor and the ASNC we were able to give out about 19 scholarships at $1,000 apiece,” he said.

Lombardo credits his time with ASNC and the College’s Honors Program as game changers in his academic career.

“My participation in the Honors Program and ASNC helped me grow as a person,” Lombardo said. “The advisers of both organizations served as mentors. They helped me recognize my potential and showed me that there are no barriers to my success. Anything can be achieved.”

The Honors Program’s rigorous curriculum challenged him, which proved helpful at Cal. In addition, Lombardo says his tenure in the Associated Students of Norco College “gave me real-world experience in community engagement. Such experience sparked my interest in politics and law, setting me on a trajectory toward a law career. Without their support, I would not be the person I am today… I am indebted to Norco College—it is a place where I grew not only as a student, but as a person.”

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