Alice J. Klein
Coastline class of 1990
As a stay-at-home mom who worked the carpool circuit for years, I longed for a career of my own. When my youngest child set out for college, I knew the time had come for me to venture forth into the real world as well. While I had taken classes sporadically over the years, I realized that I would need useful skills to enter the real workforce. At the time, I couldn’t even type! So I plotted my future and enrolled in Coastline’s AA degree program for an associate's degree in office automation careers.
Enter Marg Taylor. Marg was an instructor who cared deeply about her students, a diverse group of individuals of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. As I was obviously one of the oldest students in the class, I was terribly self-conscious. However, her steady instructional pace and patient approach made me comfortable immediately. She taught typing, business writing, and word processing, and I chose to attend as many of her classes as I could.
After completing the program, I worked briefly for a temporary agency, building my administrative skills, and then landed a job as an administrative assistant at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. I suppose you can say the rest is history, as the position happened to be in the fundraising department, where I worked with some truly amazing people who introduced me to the world of professional nonprofit fundraising.
As a result of a lot of hard work, and an incredible group of friends and colleagues, I have gone on to a most successful career in the nonprofit arena, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree at Pepperdine University, becoming a director of development, vice president for development, president of the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and now president of my own firm, A.J. Klein & Associates, a professional management consulting firm specializing in nonprofit organizations. When I look back, I have to thank Marg Taylor and Coastline Community College for giving me the educational foundation and the personal confidence to make the move from carpool mama to successful business executive.
Alice J. Klein, CFRE
Tony Aguilar
Coastline class of 1988
Education was not a high priority for me in my younger years. When I graduated from high school, I barely squeaked out. Shortly after high school, Uncle Sam drafted me into the Army in the middle of the Vietnam conflict. While in the military, I observed who was making life or death decisions about the men and women in the battle fields. It was the educated personnel and usually from a safe location far from the fighting zone. Education quickly jumped to a higher spot on my priority list. I knew that if I wanted to control my own destiny, I had to get an education.
When I left the Army, I had to work to support myself and my wife. My long hours and the exhaustion that came from a physical job made it difficult to attend classes until late at night. At the time, Coastline was a new college that made learning more convenient. They were the only college offering classes at local high school campuses in the evenings, a time when I could actually attend. Immediately, I was very impressed with Coastline. It was a college without a campus that utilized public facilities that were normally unused at night. They demonstrated an extremely efficient use of public facilities at a time I was all about efficiency!
I first set out to obtain a specialized certificate in energy management and planned to become an energy conservation consultant at Southern California Edison—where I was working—but I didn’t stop there. After getting my certificate, I went on to obtain my Associate of Arts degree.
Coastline provided something more important to me than all the typical coursework. It helped me prepare to be successful at the university level by teaching me great study habits, encouraging persistence and how to achieve through the encouragement I received from all levels of staff. I even made the dean's list, which really added to my confidence in my pursuit of an education.
After Coastline, I went on to obtain my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Redlands and as my education advanced, so did my career. I am extremely thankful to Coastline Community College. When I had the opportunity to join the Coastline Foundation, I eagerly accepted the role. I want to be part of Coastline’s legacy and assist the institution to develop and fund programs and services that will help students who may have similar stories like mine. Coastline has become a way of life for me and I would encourage anyone who has had similar experiences at Coastline to join me in giving back to the college. Ultimately, our efforts will make great opportunities for others.
Tony Aguilar, a very proud alum!