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Marissa “Mars” Orizaba

Mars Orizaba’s parents didn’t attend college — she saw them working extremely hard just to provide for their family. So when Mars graduated from South Tahoe High School, she started working full time, too. Mars had never been a great student; she earned Cs and Ds and didn’t really like school. Why attend college when she could start working and making money?

One year later, her grandmother became very ill. Before she passed, her grandmother shared her wish that Mars return to school, saying, “You’re worth more.” Then, when Mars’ grandfather also turned ill, Mars realized what she really wanted to do for a living: help people. She wanted to work as a nurse to improve the quality of life for terminally ill children. Attaining that goal would require an education, and for the first time, she had a reason to go back to school.

Two years after Mars graduated from high school, her sister enrolled in the Lake Tahoe College Promise Program at LTCC with her own dreams of working in health care, but her finances would have prohibited further education. Mars realized this was her opportunity to take the next step in her journey to reach her goal of a nursing degree and career.

Mars joined her sister as a Promise student and enrolled in LTCC in fall of 2024. She is currently in her second year of a liberal arts degree program, with an emphasis in math and science. This January, Mars will begin Barton Health’s two-month Certified Nursing Assistant Program while earning her associate’s degree at LTCC. After graduation in spring 2026 — when she and her sister will graduate together — Mars hopes to continue on to a bachelor’s degree program in nursing at Chico State University in fall 2026.

Before entering college, Mars didn’t believe that she matched the image of a college student she had gotten from movies and TV; she worried about not fitting in with her fellow students. But, fortunately, the team of Promise Navigators were an invaluable source of information about available resources and went above and beyond to answer her questions and make her feel comfortable. That experience was such a positive influence that Mars became a Promise Navigator herself. Now, Mars, who says she used to be a “shy homebody,” takes true pleasure in helping new students, just like her, to overcome their anxiety and become confident, successful students.

Mars says that there are many other young Latinos like her in the community who don’t think they can go to college. The Promise program offers hope to students that anything is still possible as long as they are committed and work hard. “I was one of those students, and I thought I wouldn’t amount to anything,” she says. “Coming here changed my mind.”