Lights, camera, action.

As Drama Club president his senior year and an avid performer at El Camino High School’s Truax Theater in Oceanside, Reden Magtira found that balancing Advanced Placement (AP) classes and a rigorous rehearsal schedule for the plays and musicals were a perfect fit for this 2013 graduate. With academic honors and eight high school productions under his belt, Reden enrolled at MiraCosta College in the fall of 2013 to earn his general education credits and transfer to UC San Diego and major in theatre.

Though Reden had the grades and test scores to start his college journey at a university, he chose to attend MiraCosta College instead.

“Attending a four-year university right out of high school did not seem that logical. I don’t get the appeal of ‘dorm life’ or the importance of belonging to a fraternity or even the quintessential objective of ‘finding yourself’ hundreds of miles away from home,” Reden said.

Thankfully, Reden “found” himself during his high school years, and believes by attending a community college he is getting the same quality education that a freshman attending a university is, but for a fraction of the price.

As a first-year student at MiraCosta College, Reden has been blown away by the quality of his experience at the Oceanside Campus. “The teachers actually want to be here. They enjoy teaching the students, which in return give the students a more effective and easy experience in learning. I’ve noticed the students are so eager to understand concepts and ask questions, and they’re quite polite as well,” Reden said.

Balancing two jobs as a barista and a student worker at the MiraCosta College Public Information Office would not have been possible without the addition of the Friday Core classes. “The Friday and Saturday sessions have been an absolute asset to my schedule because I get to spread out my classes throughout the week. If I were to stack all my classes on two days, I’d be burned out by the end of the day and wouldn’t have the energy nor the enthusiasm to even open my backpack,” Reden said.

Other than the quality of education he has received so far, there seems to be one other thing he enjoys at the college: the cafeteria.

“The food is affordable, tasty and keeps me and my brain fueled for my upcoming classes,” Reden said with a big smile.

Reden believes if he has learned one thing from acting, it’s that preparation is key.

By choosing to attend MiraCosta College, Reden feels he made the right decision which will make him feel more prepared when he transfers.

To him, these next couple of years are merely the Act I in the play he calls “life.”

“Not very sure what Act II is going to be like, but one thing is for sure—without MiraCosta College, an Act II wouldn’t be possible.”