Rosie Mercado initially enrolled at 鶹Ƶ in 2015-16, but her education was interrupted by keratoconus, which required eye surgery and a long, painful recovery. Shortly before summer quarter in 2025, Mercado felt physically ready to return to the classroom, but she worried about having to start from the beginning.
Mercado found out she had someone in her corner to help her figure out how to continue her education right where she left off a decade prior.
“I worked with [Pathway Navigator] Maria Armengol to figure out details,” she said. “It was such a relief to know that I didn’t have to start from scratch.”
Armengol let Mercado know that the credits she previously earned would still count and advised her to review what she had learned in her earlier science classes before completing the final science prerequisites needed before applying for YVC’s nursing program this summer. Now a mother of two, Mercado hopes to support other women going through the birthing experience.
“The nurses in the hospital brought me that feeling of wanting to help other women, and especially being a Hispanic woman who could be there for women with the same background and could speak the same language,” Mercado said.
While the college has had pathway navigators for several years, during the 2025-26 academic year those staff members have relocated to Deccio Higher Education Center to foster greater day-to-day collaboration with the college’s Counseling & Advising Center and other student services. And that’s just one part of a larger reorganization of YVC’s student services and enrollment operations intended to provide better, more coordinated support to students all the way from submitting their application to receiving their diploma at graduation.
ABOVE: A YVC staff member talks to students during a financial literacy workshop in Apirl 2025. TOP: An instructor talks to a student during Advising Day in November 2025.
Seamless support
A significant majority of incoming students at 鶹Ƶ come from communities historically underrepresented in higher education — first generation, low income and non-native English speakers, among others. The recent reorganization, says Interim Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management Pedro Navarrete, aims to eliminate barriers these students face in their pursuit of a post-secondary credential.
“The higher education environment is changing,” said Navarrete. “Students are very becoming very discerning on where they’re investing their time. We need to be able to support them throughout their student journey so they can graduate in a timely manner and enter or re-enter the workforce and be successful.”
When students receive clear guidance, proactive support and streamlined services, he said, they are more likely to persist and complete their programs.
Thanks to the reorganization, has become a central hub for the college’s student services on the Yakima Campus. For example, a navigator helping a student can refer them to financial aid staff located within the same building. That makes it less likely that a student gets lost or confused when seeking help.
Other changes with the recent reorganization include integrating counseling and advising services within a Student Success Initiatives unit, which also includes navigators, admissions and outreach staff, and a relocation of the YVC Foundation office to Deccio to improve coordination with the Financial Aid Office and provide a more seamless experience for students seeking scholarships and emergency aid.
Students talk with local employers about career opportunities during YVC's Career and Transfer Fair in April 2026.
Senaida Lopez, assistant dean for student success initiatives, said the reorganization is about meeting YVC students where they’re at. That’s especially important for first-generation students who worry about having to navigate college on their own.
“One of the big changes over the last year is changing up the student experience,” Lopez said. “When they come into the student services building, there are staff here to welcome them and make them feel they belong here at YVC. That’s what we’re really striving for.”
Pathway navigators, for example, play a critical role as connectors.
“The intention behind our pathway navigators is to give that warm handoff,” Lopez said. “To say to students ‘Hey, there’s somebody here in this office who can help you with whatever your need is’.”
Another student who’s benefited from that support is Brijida Alcaide, who is on track to graduate with her associate degree this June on her way to entering the college’s nursing program.
She points to the support of Pathway Navigator Harli Moran as an essential partner in her success working on her prerequisite courses the last two years.
“She’s always answered my questions, especially if I was unsure of something such as requirements to graduate,” Alcaide said. “She also sends messages if she thinks that there’s an opportunity that I will be interested in, like the college’s graduation workshops, which I really like because it's something I wouldn't have known otherwise.”
Students talk to a staff member during the college's Yak Family Night on the Grandview Campus at the beginning of Fall Quarter 2025.
A friendly face
Over the past year, Lopez said staff in the Student Success Initiatives unit have seen more students coming in to ask for help and get connected with support at an earlier stage.
Ava Schoonover is one such student. When she first enrolled at YVC as a Running Start student during her senior year of high school, it was a difficult decision.
“I had nothing in mind at all [for my academic pathway], I just decided to start on my regular credits to earn my associate degree,” Schoonover said.
When she visited the Counseling & Advising Center for the first time, she was connected with counselor Elizabeth DeVilleneuve, who previously worked with Schoonover’s mother at Comprehensive Healthcare.
“I was like, ‘Wow, now I have a familiar face that I can have a connection with here,’” Schoonover said. “They have a lot of resources but they're also human beings with stories and you can learn a lot. I think there's a lot of confusion in young adulthood about choosing your career and just trying to figure out what speaks to you. I always felt comfortable to talk with Liz and I know she and the other counselors share the same love for helping students.”
During her time at YVC, Schoonover said she’s visited the Counseling & Advising Center several times each quarter. Those visits have helped her make sure she completed the courses needed to earn her high school diploma and get guidance about future career opportunities.
With the reorganization of student services, the college has also launched new events such as graduation workshops. Approximately 50 students in total attended workshops in February on the Yakima and Grandview campuses.
“We’re trying to be more proactive in getting those important deadlines out to students and making it easier for them to successfully complete their degree or certificate,” said Lopez.
That focus is much appreciated by students such as Alcaide, who is looking to become the first member of her family to enter a healthcare profession.
“I really appreciate the help the pathways navigators can give you and make sure you complete the classes that are required because nursing is something I’ve always been interested in,” she said. “It feels nice because it’s definitely a career option that I never saw growing up but now I get to go ahead and do that."
Story by Dustin Wunderlich, director of community relations. Photos by Brandon Mendoza (AA-DTA '19), graphic designer/multimedia content producer, and Stefanie Menard, AA-DTA ’05, communications consultant.