Kevin LaMantain
Grad Stories (2015)
As a teenager, Kevin LaMantain could pound a nail, measure a compound woodcut, and
hang a door, but he never deciphered the blueprint that led to college.
An undiagnosed learning disorder prompted him to drop out of high school early. His
carpentry skills landed a him a job, a decent hourly wage kept him driving screws,
and any thoughts of finishing high school and going to college got swept up with the
sawdust at the end of the day.
“Nothing I had ever learned dispelled the notion of how impossible and expensive going
to college would be,” said LaMantain, who moved from carpentry to line construction,
auto customization and countless other jobs, always jumping after two or three years.
“By the time I became an adult with my own children, the idea of going to college
had become an opportunity that I considered was for others more privileged than myself.”
His early years contributed to the disconnect. LaMantain grew up in a household with
older parents, both exhausted from having raised a large family, his father disabled.
While his parents encouraged him to go to college, they hadn’t attended themselves
and had no understanding of the financial planning and preparation required.
One day, LaMantain bought a book about how to go to college. He still regrets that
decision.
“It obviously wasn’t written for prospective students. One chapter talked about preparing
academically by the seventh grade; another about starting a college savings account
for your child. It was probably one of the most discouraging factors in me not going
back to school.”
A later visit to a local community college guidance office didn’t help either. “It
was as if the counselor and I spoke different languages,” LaMantain said. “It may
sound too simple but one of the most difficult challenges to overcome for reentry
students, adult students or anyone enrolling for the first time is figuring out how
to apply and enroll, and the difference between the two.”
LaMantain finally found answers to his own questions while researching a plan for
his oldest child to attend college. He discovered the Equal Opportunity Programs &
Services (EOPS) program at Norco College. The program is specifically designed to
meet the needs of first-generation college students and those from low-income families.
“EOPS counseling directed me to other services that led me to overcome learning disabilities
that had frustrated me in school as a young person and dispelled every objection I
ever had about going to college,” said UC Berkeley-bound LaMantain. “I took every
class seriously as if it was the last opportunity I’d ever have. I knew that at my
age as a single parent the idea of redoing a class or getting a substandard grade
weighed the odds against my success.”
His hard work and determination carried him through preparatory classes, requirements
for the Transfer Alliance Guarantee, and positioned him as an excellent candidate
for UC admission. “Even the sky doesn’t seem to be the limit anymore,” he said.
As graduation from Norco College nears, LaMantain is planning his next steps as an
English major entering Cal in the fall and exploring a personal calling toward researching
Autism Spectrum Disorders.
“At Norco College, I learned that an education can transform a person’s life. An education
is so much more than you hope it is going to be. The challenges that I’ve faced have
given me a great life, and it just keeps getting better.”
The man who replaced a hammer with a book and took a different path in life says that
while his story may be unusual, there is nothing special about him. “Anyone can do
this, and I hope anyone who has ever thought about it, does.”
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