SWC News Center

A New Voice for Students: Orlando Vicente-Lazo Joins Governing Board

By: Stephanie Kingston - June 18, 2026

For newly elected Student Trustee Orlando Vicente-Lazo, Southwestern College is more than a place to earn a degree. It's the community that helped him find direction, belonging, and a path toward his future.
Raised in Orange County and educated in a school designed for students who learn differently, Vicente-Lazo's path to higher education was anything but traditional. After relocating to the border region, he found himself adrift and struggling to regain his footing academically.

"I knew I wanted to study, but I didn't know how," he recalled. "So I didn't, and I fell behind for a year." That changed when he enrolled at Southwestern College.

"Southwestern College gave me a path forward," he said. "It gave me a place to anchor my ambition to the reality of my situation." 

Community has been one of the most meaningful parts of his Southwestern College experience. He shared that realization during a recent Puente Program celebration when family members were unable to attend. "In that moment, I realized the people in that room, my classmates and mentors, had become the closest thing I have to a family here," he said.

His election was rooted in commitment to advocacy, representation, and ensuring that student voices remain at the center of important decisions. As Student Trustee, he hopes to help strengthen those connections and support future generations of Jaguars as they pursue their own educational goals. His own personal goal is to transfer to UC Berkeley in 2027.

As he begins his term, Vicente-Lazo hopes his story serves as a reminder that students do not need a perfect path to achieve their goals.

"The best way forward often begins a step behind," he said.

Now, from the Governing Board dais to the classroom, Vicente-Lazo is helping ensure that Southwestern College students have a voice in shaping the future of the institution that helped shape his own.