Michelle Estrada, a Cal State San Bernardino graduate who now is principal of Hesperia High School and a CSUSB doctoral candidate, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Victor Valley College Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award.
Estrada, who attended Victor Valley College before transferring to CSUSB, will be honored with other VVC alumni on Feb. 25 at the 2017 Alumni Hall of Fame and Distinguished Service Awards Celebration in Victorville.
“We have excellent educational opportunities right here in our local area,” Estrada said. “The personalized education, dedicated professionals, and excellent mentors with whom I have come in contact throughout my education at VVC and CSUSB have helped guide me into my current career and have sparked my desire to provide the same opportunities for my students.”
The foundation honored Estrada for her leadership at Hesperia High School, her alma mater, where she is now principal.
The service award honors her years of working to improve educational opportunities for local students, which include establishing Hesperia High’s Early College Academy, aimed at students who otherwise would not consider a college education. The academy, established in 2014 between the Hesperia Unified School District and VVC, allows students to finish more than a year of college by high school graduation.
Estrada earned her bachelor of arts degree in math and a master of arts in educational administration from CSUSB. She currently is a candidate in the College of Education’s doctorate in educational leadership program.
Nominations were open to the public to submit and were reviewed by a panel of community leaders from across the region.