For Kristy Moyes and her family, comparing the past to the present is like night and day.
Five years ago, Kristy was working as a server to support her husband and five children. Because a series of health challenges forced her husband out of his job, Kristy spent most of her time at work to provide for the family on a single income. And while Kristy’s income kept the family afloat, they still had to make sacrifices. Because of their now-limited family income, the Moyes’ could no longer afford their house and had to move into a motor home on Kristy’s sister’s property in Valley Center.
Little did the Moyes family know though, that was all about to change.
At the time, Kristy’s two oldest sons were enrolled in the Technology Career Institute (TCI) Engineering Technician Program at MiraCosta College. One day after class, her second oldest came home and recommended that she consider enrolling too. He told her, “This is the type of stuff you do every day – problem solving and making little fixes.”
“The whole reason why I was able to go to MiraCosta College was because we were basically homeless already,” recalled Kristy. “If I was having to cover the extra expenses, there’s no way I could have afforded to take that extra time off work.”
At that time, the family has already been living in the motor home for 18 months and they all agreed that they could make it another four months while their mom took classes at MiraCosta College. Thus, a plan was in place.
Every week, Kristy would drive with her youngest son, now the third Moyes child to enroll in the TCI Engineering Technician Program, where they would take classes together on the MiraCosta College campus.
“I still remember the anxiety I felt when I walked into the classroom for the first time,” shared Kristy. “Most of the other students were closer to my son’s age and I was scared to open my mouth to ask a question. I mostly sat in the back of the classroom and kept quiet.”
Over time, Kristy got to know her instructors and slowly gained more and more confidence.
“Any time I needed extra help, my professors would sit down with me for 30 minutes or an hour until I understood the concepts,” recalled Kristy. “Having people invest in me like that made all the difference.”
During the next few months, Kristy thrived in the classroom. She still worked to support her everyone at home, taking shifts whenever she wasn’t in school and working on the weekends if the family was really struggling and needed extra food on the table. But thanks to MiraCosta College, that would soon change.
With the help of a professor, Kristy secured an internship that allowed her to get paid and receive school credits. Months later, upon graduation, that internship turned into a full-time job making high-tech satellite components.
Today, Kristy can support the family on her single income and the Moyes’ now live in an apartment in Vista.
Said Kristy, “MiraCosta College has really changed my life, as well as my kids’ lives, for the better.”
Before MiraCosta College, Kristy was spending most of her time working at the restaurant, leaving her little-to-no free time to spend with her family. Today, she cherishes the extra freedom that comes with having a full-time, well-paying job.
“I didn’t get to see my kids grow up,” said Kristy. “But now, we have a closeness that we didn’t have before. I’m able to be more present at home and my kids don’t have to struggle like I had to struggle when I was their age.”
And even though she’s no longer enrolled on campus, Kristy knows that the support from MiraCosta is never far away. If Kristy ever has a question about a new skill or project at work, her first call is to her professors and mentors at MiraCosta College.
“MiraCosta College is like a safe place,” shared Kristy. “I know my MiraCosta College professors are always going to be there to help me for the rest of my life.”