What does a student services specialist at Santa Monica College do? Instead of mulling over a definition, let’s take a (virtual) pit stop at the second floor of the SMC Student Services Center. Directly behind the front desk of the EOPS office, in a cheery cubicle presided over by a predominantly purple vision board (more on that later), there sits an individual who believes that every student—really, every person in the world—needs to know someone cares for them.
Ma’isha Reid—that’s her name—is a student services specialist for EOPS and Foster Student Support Services. She is a front-line resource for students who come to SMC to pursue their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families, despite some of the most crushing obstacles a human being could encounter (socio-economic inequities, systemic and racial injustices, the absence of a familial support system). She answers questions about programs like Guardian Scholars and the newer state-funded NextUp, which support former and current foster youth enrolled at the college. She conducts orientations and onboards students, organizes events, and lets students know they are not alone in their educational journey.
Ma’isha understands their struggles and triumphs first-hand. And because of this, she finds purpose in letting students know they ought to never give up. As Ma’isha’s supervisor Interim Dean of Special Programs Dr. Debra Joseph-Locke puts it, “Not one week goes by that you don’t hear Ma’isha’s voice somewhere . . . saying, ‘Don’t worry, you’ve got this!’”Today—as a freshly minted graduate of SMC, no less!—Ma’isha is on the cusp of a new chapter herself, back on track to fulfill a dream deferred decades ago.
“I Just Did What I Had to Do”
When she was growing up, Ma’isha’s dream was “to attend USC and become a lawyer.” In high school, she “got off track.” A year after graduating from high school in 1989, she became a mother to her daughter, Deja. After that, she was unable to stay the course and fulfill her dream. But she also told herself: “You have to do something, because you have this baby to take care of. You can’t just be lollygagging around.”
Having her daughter, Ma’isha says, completely transformed her life. She went on to work for Bank of America, Princess Cruises, and Hertz Car Rental. “I worked wherever I could, because it’s what I needed to do,” she says.
Eventually her mother encouraged her to go back to school. So Ma’isha enrolled at LA Trade Tech in 2003 and graduated in 2005 after completing an accelerated course of study. It wasn’t easy. She was, after all, working 60 hours a week. By this time, she’d married and had another child, too—her son Akili, who was in elementary school. Always one to finish what she’d started, Ma’isha acknowledges that without her family’s support, she couldn’t have accomplished the pivot back to higher education.
Somebody Cares
In 2015, Ma’isha had been working at FedEx for over 17 years when—without warning—her entire department, 11 employees in all, was laid off. She pauses, says: “Fired—let’s just say the right word.” (A courier for 14 years, Ma’isha had eventually moved to FedEx’s aircraft maintenance department). By this time, she’d started thinking of retirement; her world—her plans—were turned upside down. “I started filling out applications everywhere I could think of.”
She applied for a number of positions at SMC. When a call came, offering her a limited-term
position in the Admissions & Records office, she “jumped on it.” “I’ve never looked back,” says Ma’isha. As a limited-term employee,
she also worked in the Cashier’s Office, before being hired permanently and finding her way, eventually, to EOPS. “There’s
no place I would rather be,” she says, of her role today. “All those years working
at other places allowed me to put my children through private school, affording me
a life I never thought I could have . . . but I wish I could have spent that time
at SMC—because this job is much more fulfilling.”
Many of the students—especially foster students, Ma’isha points out—don’t have a parental
figure. They are shunted from home to home and cannot make those essential human connections.
“And in the job I have now, I want to make those connections,” she says, “because
everyone needs a sense of family, whether they are related by blood or not. A lot
of people, not just foster youth, go through this world not knowing that somebody
cares.”
A strong belief drives her work: “I am on the path God has put me on.” And this certainty keeps her from dwelling on the regrets, of the years lost. Though Ma’isha sits in the EOPS office, students from other programs—for example, Black Collegians Umoja Community—will drop by to talk to her. Because “they know that there is someone here who cares.”
According to Dr. Locke, Ma’isha supports students’ success, with a “quiet grace, while still exuding strength and determination.” “She takes pride in following through to the end and ‘closing the gaps’, when it comes to students’ frustrations, questions and general needs - and commits herself to this on a daily basis,” Dr. Locke says.
A Dream Deferred, Now (Almost) Fulfilled
This year, Ma’isha graduated with two degrees (an Associate in Science, Accounting and another in Business), plus a certificate of achievement (in Business), from Santa Monica College—with honors. It was “a no-brainer,” she says. As a member of the Classified School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 36, the union that represents all classified or non-teaching employees, Ma’isha could take classes at the college for free. Besides, she already had most of the requirements fulfilled, for the two degrees and certificate.
“School is not really my thing,” she says, “but I guess it is my thing now. I have so many people behind me, who are like, you need to finish.’” Many of her co-workers, like Dr. Joseph-Locke and Aaron De La Torre—and friends who are part of SMC’s Pan African Alliance leadership (Dr. Jermaine Junius and Jocelyn Winn)—had to talk Ma’isha into participating in commencement and the Black Student Graduation Celebration. She didn’t want to take any of the limelight away from her students. But they reminded Ma’isha she was a student, too.
She listened to them—and to Deja and Akili, who’d been very young when Ma’isha graduated from LA Trade Tech. Akili was spotted with his mother at a reception in SMC’s cafeteria after the Black Student Graduation Celebration, dancing—Akili had clearly inherited his mother’s dancing skills—to Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. Deja, who lives in South Carolina now, watched her mother cross the stage on Corsair Field via the livestream.
Ma’isha’s support system at SMC has urged her to no longer defer her dreams. Dr. Joseph-Locke encouraged her—in fact, the morning of the interview with SMC in Focus’s editor—to set her sights on graduate school. “I still want to go to USC,” Ma’isha laughs, “but I can’t afford it.” Most likely, her destination will be Cal State Dominguez Hills, which is more affordable and geared towards working adults like her.
Visions
Driving in to work from the Crenshaw area where she lives, Ma’isha gets centered by listening to popular pastor, televangelist, and author Joel Osteen. After a mandatory cup of coffee, she checks in with Dr. Locke and Aaron de la Torre, an interim EOPS/CARE supervisor. Ma’isha’s days consist of responding to emails, phone calls, student queries—as the first point of contact, she “does whatever [the students] need.”
Ma’isha’s cubicle is brightened by novelties and special personal items like the framed 2024 Dr. Bobby Adams Award of Excellence, conferred on her by the SMC Pan African Alliance, bright blue Mylar balloons that read “Grad”, and a purple vision board.
The picture of a watch on the board has text Ma’isha wrote next to it: Time is of the essence. It serves as a reminder, to not waste time. “You have to do something—and make it make sense.” There are other things she loves—like travel—represented, too. (Ma’isha loves going on cruises, and her favorite destination has been Curaçao). The picture of an African American woman wearing braids represents her pride at being African American. “[The board] reminds me of what’s important to me.”
Speaking of time, if she could go back and tell her 18-year-old self something, Ma’isha says it would be this: “Stay on track. Don’t waste your 12th grade year. And go to USC.”
USC or not, with her positive outlook and infectious joy—not to mention her impact on students—Ma’isha is living out the best kind of life: one with zero regrets.
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SMC in Focus Volume X, Issue 4
Never Too Late
Ana Mora survived an abusive relationship and substance use and gained a fresh start in life at Santa Monica College. Read Article
Post-Game Strategy
From hoops to standard deviations, Kant and stellate ganglia, this outstanding Corsair has a proven gameplan for personal success. Read Article
Fostering Futures
As former foster youth, Sabrina Conner and Shirel Omidi have faced numerous hardships, which they are overcoming through their own resilience and support at Santa Monica College. Read Article
No Looking Back for Ma’isha Reid
This dedicated student services specialist & SMC alum deferred her dreams for decades. But she has zero regrets, and stands on the cusp of a brand-new chapter of her life. Read Article
Bragging Rights
An opera, advocacy for arthrogryposis, taking a trick horse onto national TV, awards, helping & feeding students, boundary-breaking dance. Read Article
Soaring in the Unknown
This Asian-Latina from Ecuador came to SMC with trepidations about the unfamiliar. Through grit and determination, she found courage to flourish in the unknown. Read Article