San Diego Community College District gets $1M gift to help health care students

A million-dollar gift from philanthropist Roger Frey will allow the San Diego Community College District to help health care students at its four campuses by subsidizing professional costs, officials said Monday.

The $1 million is on top of $600,000 previously donated to the district by Frey and is the first major donation toward a $12 million endowment campaign that will permanently sustain SDCCD’s Ready2Work program.

Created in 2024, Ready2Work is intended to benefit health care students at San Diego City, Mesa, Miramar, and Continuing Education colleges by reimbursing them for required licensing, testing and certification costs.

“For all of the students who have sacrificed so much to earn their degrees, I hope this gift will remove their last obstacle to achieving new and rewarding careers,” said Frey, who also helped fund the district’s tuition-free San Diego Promise program.

The district has more than 1,100 students in its multiple health care programs — “including the emergency medical technician program at Miramar College, the neurodiagnostic technician program at Mesa College, the nursing program at City College, and the Certified Nursing Assistant program at College of Continuing Education, among others,” a district statement read. These students are set to spend a combined total of $526,631 on licensing exams alone this year.

Patricia Santos completed her associate of science degree from Mesa College’s physical therapist assistant program last year, and said she credits the Ready2Work program for helping cover her $1,050 licensure exam fee.

“I am truly grateful to the donors who made it possible for me to pay for my licensure exam fees,” she said. “I am excited to contribute to the field of physical therapy and make a meaningful impact on the lives of my patients, as well as give back to the community.”

SDCCD Chancellor Gregory Smith said The Ready2Work Program shows how philanthropy can help students.

“Our students were completing degrees and certificates in high-demand, workforce-oriented health programs, but for too many, the high cost of testing, fingerprinting, background checks, and state licensing certificates prevented them from starting their new career for months or years after graduation,” he said. “Roger immediately recognized the opportunity to intervene and help.”

Frey said the program was a net gain for the region.

“For the students, the Ready2 Work program helps them obtain the licenses needed to achieve their professional goals,” he said. “For the rest of us, the program strengthens the medical infrastructure we all depend upon.”