Five years ago, an ambitious young adult immigrated to the United States from Uganda to meet the father he never knew.
Pierce College student Jacob Amanya grew up in “total poverty,” without “fancy foods, fancy things”—or his parents. So, at age 20, when Amanya got in contact with his Ugandan-American father, he took the scary step of moving to the U.S.
What Amanya didn’t expect was, a mere five years later, he’s found much more than his father. He’s discovered the many pieces of his life that make him a person he is proud to be—the person who will be Pierce’s student commencement speaker this year.
“The whole point of me moving out here was to connect and bond with my dad because I never grew up with him,” said Amanya, who is now 25 years old. “[Moving] was quite emotional. Everything was different, but I got used to everything really fast because everyone was so friendly.”
Amanya started college during the Fall 2021 semester, but did not immediately build the connections he was hoping for. Then, in early 2022, he interrupted his college journey to join the U.S. Marines.
“COVID really affected me hard and I just saw my life in a different perspective,” Amanya said. “I felt like I needed my own life and I needed something to identify myself with, not just being my father’s son.”
As a Marine, Amanya has worked as an aviation mechanic and built a community for himself.
“He’s an amazing human being,” said Lara Conrady Wong, Student Engagement Coordinator and counselor at Pierce. “If you ever interact with him, he’s just got a really great spirit. He honors himself by pushing himself every day to be who he’s supposed to be.”
In September 2022, Amanya decided to return to school and enrolled in Pierce College as a psychology major.
“[Enrolling at Pierce] was one of the best things that has happened to me,” Amanya said. “But the beginning was hard because I kept questioning myself. I had a big dream and that kind of propelled me to where I wanted to be. I wanted to graduate with honors.”
Amanya not only achieved that goal—he is graduating on the President’s Honor List—but he is also transferring to UCLA in the fall.
He was accepted to every CSU and UC he applied to.
“It’s amazing to see a high performing student like him dedicate his time to writing a speech and congratulating his fellow peers,” ASO President Gayane Zazyan said.
Some of Amanya’s many campus involvements include the English and psychology clubs, Umoja, the Pi chapter of Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society and the Pierce men’s soccer team.
“It was hard starting school here,” Amanya said. “Everything was difficult because I didn’t grow up speaking English. But the fact that I had people here that care and that were willing to support me was really good.”
At UCLA, Amanya hopes to combine his love of soccer and his academics by studying sports psychology.
Amanya said his two pieces of advice for Pierce students are to “stick to your goals” and “utilize all the resources available at school.”
“I’m proud of my decisions, these bold decisions,” Amanya said. “Everything is now making sense. Eventually, all the pieces go together and you get beautiful pictures out of them.”
The 2024 Pierce College commencement ceremony will be held at Shepard Stadium on June 6 at 9 a.m.
Violet Garcia contributed to this story.