Maribel Diaz has been a full time student at College of the Canyons since 2001, and graduated with her Associates Degree in English in 2005. She attended CSUN
for a semester but returned to COC because she still has other courses she can take that are transferable. 

Growing up, Maribel began to realize that she had interests in many different subjects which made her future career choices very confusing. At a very young age, she demonstrated that she had a strong interest in teaching and a desire to learn everything she could. She grew up watching The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet due to her love for animals and nature. For a long time, Maribel believed she would become a Veterinarian because she had a strong interest in medicine and animals, but this changed when she was a junior in High School.

In her junior year in Saugus High School, she took an English course called College Preparatory English Grammar (CPEG) and immediately fell in love with it. From this class, sprung her passion for English and was inspired so much by her teacher that she realized it was what she wanted to do. Similarly, her interest in environmental issues was also surfaced by her Humanities Professor in COC. She has learned that by exploring paths other than those that are marked on paper to reach your goal (certificate), one can understand and make more logical decisions.

Today, Maribel continues having strong interests in many fields but her career choice, to become a community college English professor, has maintained. She believes that one should not limit oneself to only one train of thought or one known talent. One should explore ones curiosities because from them can rise hidden interests. This is why she has remained at COC for so many years, because everything she has learned she can apply to her current major. To her, that typical college student saying, “I’ll never use this in the future,” does not exist.