Ezequiel Alvarado Jr. started at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) with a head start, a goal, and some hesitation.
A Muscatine High School graduate, Alvarado arrived at EICC with dual enrollment credits already earned. What he thought would take two years took one.
Now 19, Alvarado has graduated with honors and an Associate in Arts. A first-generation college graduate and the son of immigrant parents, he is already
looking ahead to the University of Iowa.
“I feel very proud of myself,” Alvarado said. “Being first-generation, achieving honors, and earning a degree, something my parents didn’t have, makes me very proud.”
But pride is only part of the story.
Alvarado came to EICC’s Muscatine campus with an interest in mental health. Growing up, he was often the friend people turned to when they needed someone to listen. “I wanted to make sure their feelings were heard and that they felt included,” Alvarado said.
When he learned more about psychology and mental health, something clicked. He saw a future where listening could become more than a personal strength. It could become a career.
“I feel like I could really make a difference by choosing psychiatry and becoming a doctor. I want people to know they are not different from anybody else. We are all human beings, and your mental health matters,” Alvarado said.
At first, he was not sure how much activity he’d find on the Muscatine campus. Then advisors and faculty members helped him connect, including with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He joined the campus chapter.
Before long, he saw the club’s values matched his own. After one year, he became president.
In that role, Alvarado found a way to help other students see what he was learning for himself: they belonged, their goals mattered, and their place at EICC was not less than anyone else’s college experience.
That message matters to him because he’s felt doubt, too. Alvarado said many students, especially first-generation students, may wonder if they are ready, may not have someone at home who can explain every college step, and may feel alone in figuring it out.
He wants them to know they are not.
“I helped students realize there are opportunities here, and they do belong here,” he said.
For Alvarado, moving through doubt meant asking questions, building relationships, and pushing himself to get involved. It also meant learning how to keep going when life got hard.
During the fall, Alvarado lost a family member while taking statistics, a class that required focus and time. Grief made studying harder, and for a while, he worried one class could stop everything he had worked toward.
“I honestly thought I wasn’t going to pass the class and that my progress would be over,” he said. “But I talked to my advisor, my counselor, and faculty members I had built connections with, and they helped me understand this was just one step back.”
That support helped him find his footing again. “There are going to be tough times as a college student and in life,” Alvarado said. “But it’s your job to get back up and use what you learned from that time.”
He did. He kept going, finished the class, stayed involved, and completed his degree with honors.
Now, Alvarado is preparing to transfer to the University of Iowa. EICC helped him
understand the classes, next steps, and transfer supports that will help him move
forward. “I feel fully prepared for what I’m going to do there,” he said.
Still, when Alvarado talks about what makes him proudest, he talks about people.
“It is the relationships I’ve grown here,” he said. “I thought that because this was a small town, something big wasn’t going to happen. But because of the relationships I built here, I’ve grown and expanded my impact into organizations and networks in Iowa and in other states.”
EICC became bigger than the small-town campus he first imagined. It became a place where he could lead, belong, and help someone else realize they belonged, too.
His advice to future students is simple. Feeling nervous does not mean you are not ready, and not knowing every step does not mean you cannot start. The support is there, the people are there, and the next move is there.
“What you’re feeling is perfectly OK,” Alvarado said. “What matters is how you react
to it. Look to your community, your support group, or someone you trust, and talk
about the steps you can take to move forward. My advice is to push yourself out there.”