For years, Oscar Estrada’s evenings followed the same routine: finish a full day at work as a facility manager, come home to help his family, then head to the garage to study.

Often, Estrada would be up long after everyone else had gone to bed. Some nights, he stayed up until midnight trying to meet assignment deadlines. Other nights, he questioned whether he belonged in college at all.

“When I first started taking classes, I felt lost,” Estrada said. “I sat down in the class, looked around me and it was all these young kids. I’m just like, ‘What am I doing here?’ I felt so uncomfortable.”

Now, after years of balancing coursework alongside a full-time job, raising three children and rebuilding his life after incarceration, Estrada is graduating with an associate’s degree in supply chain management through MiraCosta’s Business Administration program.

After years of hardship and overcoming challenges to get where he is today, Estrada, now 46, says he never imagined he’d be where he is today.

“It's emotions I can't even describe — it’s amazing,” he said. “I would have never thought of this or dreamed of this.”

Estrada’s path to MiraCosta was anything but traditional. He spent much of his teenage years behind bars, and each release from jail left Estrada feeling like he was trying to live a double life.

“When you're first out, and you're young, it's tough,” he explained. “It's a little confusing at times, because you're trying to do good, but you're still young, and you're trying to catch up on the good times you missed out on. You're trying to do both, and it just doesn’t work out. Eventually, the partying catches up, and you’re back to where you started from.”

But he said everything began to change when his daughter was born.

“That flipped the script,” Estrada said. “From that point on, I put that life behind me and moved on and started focusing on her.”

Even so, Estrada said it was another bout of incarceration after violating his parole that truly forced him to confront the future he wanted for himself and his family.

“It's one of those things where you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it,” he said. “I had a daughter who was visiting me in jail. That broke my heart. It just gave me a lot of time to reflect.”

When he was released, Estrada focused on building stability. He worked his way up professionally, purchased a home and dedicated himself to supporting his family.

“My main goal was to provide for them,” he said. “My thing was to be the best father I could and best husband and best employee and make the best of it.”

Years later, returning to school became part of that path toward personal growth.

Estrada first enrolled at MiraCosta around 2018, initially just intending to take one business class to strengthen his leadership skills at the encouragement of a supportive boss who saw his potential.

“It just kind of snowballed from there — one class, another class and another class,” he said. “I always enjoyed learning something new. And I've been able to apply the knowledge I’ve learned in those courses to my current job.”

As Estrada continued taking classes and continued growing both professionally and academically, he said his boss also began noticing changes in him — beyond the workplace.

“He’s noticed the changes in me since we first met in the late ‘90s,” Estrada said.

His boss has since told him, “You carry yourself in a professional manner versus that young ex-con that I first met when you first came out of jail.”

That growth also gave Estrada the confidence to continue pursuing his education at MiraCosta, where he found support through professors, tutors and campus staff who helped him navigate the unfamiliar world of higher education after decades away from the classroom.

“It took me at least two years to get comfortable with schooling and just get back into school mode,” he said.

One of the most meaningful sources of support came through MiraCosta’s Transitions Scholars program, which supports formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students pursuing higher education.

At first, Estrada hesitated to join the program.

“I was a little bit on the fence about joining,” he said. “Do I really want people to know my past? I’ve been flying low radar this whole time. People look at you differently when they know your history and question your integrity.”

Over time, however, the program became an important part of his journey.

“It’s a very supportive group,” Estrada said. “There are a lot of students who don’t have a big family to support them, and the Transitions program is like a big family that helps each other out and supports each other.”

Estrada credits the program with helping students feel less isolated while connecting them with resources both on and off campus.

“There’s a lot of staff that’s willing to go the extra mile to make sure you get the right help,” he said.

Even so, balancing school with work and family life was rarely easy. Estrada often studied late into the night after long workdays, while his wife managed dinners and household responsibilities.

At the same time, his son was pursuing his own college education, intending to become a firefighter.

For Estrada, continuing his education became another way to lead by example for his children.

“If I could do it, there’s no excuse that you guys can’t do it,” Estrada said he would tell them. “Your job is school. Our job is to provide for and support you guys.”

That example left a lasting impact and paid off.

“One time, he did tell me, ‘Hey, thanks, Dad, for being there. You’re a hard worker. I look up to you,’” Estrada said. “That made me feel really good.”

Now, as Estrada prepares to graduate alongside his son, who is also graduating this spring from Palomar College, he said the moment still feels surreal.“I didn't manifest this,” he said. “It's just happened.”

For Estrada, earning his degrees represents far more than an academic achievement. It marks years of perseverance, personal growth and second chances.

His story is also a reminder that no matter how long the road may be, it is never too late to start over.

“I hope people hear my story and join the program,” Estrada said of the Transitions Scholars program. “It’s an awesome program. The support is there. You just have to apply yourself.”