Humphreys University: Mayra Franco & Sandra Curiel
Mayra Franco, Chief of Police
Stockton Unified School District
When Mayra Franco began looking for a law program, she was already working full time as a law enforcement officer. But she was determined to do more to give back to her community.
“I grew up in Southside Stockton, so I’m familiar with the disadvantages that community has faced,” says Mayra. “I really wanted to continue to have a positive impact.”
Luckily, Humphreys University provided the perfect solution: a law program that offered night classes for working students. Add to that the small class sizes and dedicated professors, and Mayra was sold.
“I enrolled and I just loved it,” she says. “You don’t feel like you’re just a number here; you actually feel like the student body knows you, the faculty knows you, and that you have a support system to help you accomplish your goals.”
And accomplish her goals she certainly did: Mayra passed the notoriously difficult bar examination on the first try. As a first generation college student, that’s a huge deal — not just for Mayra, but for all students of similar backgrounds.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from,” she says. “If you set your mind to it, you can achieve any goal!”
Today, Mayra is proud to be Stockton’s first Latina Chief of Police for Stockton Unified School District. While she hopes to someday use her Juris Doctorate to practice law as an attorney, she’s still dedicated to the people of her local community and isn’t ready to hang up the boots quite yet.
“God will have me in this role as long as He needs me,” Mayra says with a smile. “He’ll let me know when it’s time to move onto the next phase.”
Sandra Curiel, Marketing Manager
Humphreys University
Sandra Curiel is passionate about two things in life: travel and education. And because travel is so often an educational experience, it really boils down to a love of learning.
“My wife and I get away as much as we can to help us connect with our love of home and to explore the world,” she says. “We’re currently teaching our daughter to value other cultures, foods, and experiences.”
When she’s not passing down her love of travel to her family, Sandra is promoting education in all its forms at Humphreys University as their Marketing Manager. A graduate of Humphreys herself, Sandra fell in love with the university after high school and never left.
“I was the salutatorian of my high school, but I knew my family couldn’t afford college and I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Sandra shares. “But then I came across Humphreys University, and they gave me a full scholarship.”
Sandra took the opportunity and ran with it, earning a total of four degrees: one Associate’s, two Bachelor’s, and a Master’s in Business Administration. Her love of education is what makes her such a passionate promoter of Humphreys University today — She knows firsthand the value of affordable higher education with flexible schedules for the people of Stockton.
“We need to encourage people like me who didn’t expect anything more out of life,” says Sandra. “We need to show them that we can be more, that we can do more without having to leave our communities.”
