Santa Monica Observer - Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Amy Gaskin

SMC Bachelor's Degree graduates Amanda Sanchez (left) and Orhan Basak speak about their experiences in the program and what brought them to Santa Monica College. Sanchez came to SMC in 2013 when she "traded Stockholm for LA" and Basak, who immigrated from Turkey when he was ten, did not initially think of college as he was immersed in helping run a family business and he did not want to go into debt. (Tuition for SMC's four-year program is approximately $10,000 tuition at four-year private institutions that offer comparable programs can cost roughly $160,000).