I grew up in an education desert but made it to UCSC – rural California needs funding so students can thrive

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

There are only five counties in California without a college, and Amador County, my home, is one of them. Amador is about three hours from Santa Cruz, and it’s a place where green hills and pine trees make up the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills. 

Amador is also an education desert, a rough term for a community more than 25 miles from the nearest college and/or where the internet speeds fall below the Federal Communications Commission benchmark for broadband. Amador County fits both criteria. 

It’s amazing to me to see the huge differences in access between students going to middle and high school in Santa Cruz County and what my peers and I experienced in Amador County. The gaps in access to learning opportunities are enormous and life-changing. In Amador, we like to say we are from “the middle of nowhere,” and I have begun to realize what an imbalance we face in education, opportunity and funding. We have been told that they can’t build a college because there isn’t enough water in the county. It’s strange because this year, a $110 million casino will open. 

Most of the people I grew up with are discouraged from attending college, for the cost and the distance. I have been luckier than most. I attend UCSC, which has given me more opportunities than I ever could have imagined. I am studying biochemistry, and on a whim I took a journalism class which has inspired me to write this op-ed. I was in journalism in middle school and loved writing for the paper, but never saw it as a viable option, given the circumstances of my community.

In Amador, we like to say we are from “the middle of nowhere,” and I have begun to realize what an imbalance we face in education, opportunity and funding. AVA THORNOCK

Growing up, my parents were determined to assure me an education. It was never a question of whether I would go to college, but where. My family emphasized the need for an education if I wanted to do anything in a place where jobs are so limited. The two closest community colleges and one state school are all over an hour away; anything farther is a non-option when you can’t afford to move away or make the commute. 

For me, my choices changed when I received veteran’s benefits through my stepdad. This allowed me to bypass the system of community colleges to state school and go directly to a University of California school without having to worry so much about the debt. I was determined to do it on my own, but the ability to get help has made such a difference. 

I now see that government support is something that could change students’ lives and push them further than they believed they could go. 

California focuses on education more than most states, but rural communities, places with smaller populations, often receive less funding than larger ones. The truth is that much more money and support is needed to improve schools in these places. Now, as the political shift takes focus away from education, these schools will receive even less. The federal budget proposed for fiscal 2026 plans to move funds away from programs that help small rural districts, including teaching grants, after-school programs and high-needs students. This would leave schools like the ones in Amador with even fewer options. 

For example, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) provides scholarships to low-income students, but will now likely be cut. It has traditionally helped rural, low-income students, veterans and people with disabilities, all prevalent groups in Amador County. 

I can’t express how crucial programs like GEAR UP are to people like me and my community, who so often feel forgotten. We are the ones who need education the most. 

Road closures, bus cancellations and countywide power outages often keep Amador students from going to class. High school students rely on buses since most don’t have a license and family members work to survive. Many families have only one vehicle, so even students with a license don’t have consistent access to a car. I would often receive texts from high school friends saying they couldn’t come to school because a family member needed the car for the day or they had to drop their family member off at work and were going to be late. 

While some argue that online school is an option for rural communities, COVID-19 showed us all how hard it is to go to school online in an area where service is so limited and inconsistent.

I always assumed I would start at a community college for two years to save money and maybe end at Sacramento State for the final two. I didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to do, just that I had to do something. I spent many years resenting the place I was from and mourning the things I couldn’t do or be. I see too many of my peers doing that – and a reduction in funding and grants will only heighten the disillusionment. 

Through my family, and a reliable school counselor, I had opportunities that helped me get accepted to UCSC. In high school, I couldn’t take chemistry until junior year because there wasn’t anyone to teach it. When we finally did get a teacher, I asked him why he came and he said, “Because you guys are the most in need.” 

That chemistry teacher is the reason I’m studying biochemistry today. Now I am able to do something I never dreamed of – attending a university three hours from home and planning to go to medical school.

There is a need for change to make education more equally available for these rural communities. In California, 37.1% of residents have a bachelor’s degree. In Amador, the number is 22.4%. Yet when they do get to college, students from Amador County have a graduation rate of 91%. This shows how pressing the need for change is. 

These kids are smart. They have huge potential for success. But not enough of them have the chance for college. 

With budget cuts coming in 2026, Amador and other small rural populations need support. I think establishing a community college is essential to give students a chance at higher education. I see what a community college can do for students in Santa Cruz and I ask why my friends and family can’t have the same. 

Growing up in Amador County I felt trapped; most of my life was spent wishing I could go somewhere else and be something more. Now, I see my siblings growing up facing the same circumstances I did. This needs to change. We need to give them and all students a fair chance to succeed.

Ava Thornock is a second-year student at UC Santa Cruz studying biochemistry. She hopes to go on to medical school and become an emergency room doctor. This is her first op-ed. She was inspired by her professor Jody K. Biehl’s journalism class, which reminded her how much she loves to write. Biehl is also the Lookout Community Voices editor.