$50,000 Donation Helps First-Generation Veteran Students Stay in College

There was a time, not so long ago, when earning three associate degrees and pursuing a bachelor’s degree seemed like an unreachable dream to Navy veteran Isaiah Franco.

After all, his goal of a long career in the military was cruelly snuffed out after he suffered a traumatic brain injury. Franco knew he needed to regroup and find his next passion, but how? As a first-generation college student, he lacked family support and wasn’t sure if he would be able to earn one degree, let alone three.

That’s when the Foundation for California Community Colleges (Foundation CCC) stepped in with a program specifically tailored to veteran students, helping them finish college and set them up on a rewarding career path. In May, Foundation CCC received a $50,000 donation from the Auto Club of Southern California for 11 community colleges across the state, including San Bernardino Valley College, where Franco attended.

“The funding will help bridge personal financial gaps, so student veterans can stay focused on completing their education,” according to a press release.

For Franco, who plans to transfer to California Baptist University this fall, the financial aid helped him buy a laptop for work and school. At Cal Baptist, Franco will study public relations and public affairs and wants to use his degree to assist fellow veterans trying to find jobs after service.

Navy Offered Chance at Better Life

Franco endured a difficult childhood. He saw the Navy as his ticket out.

“I would see those posters and commercials for the Navy SEALs, and all I could think about as a child was that all those people looked confident and all I wanted was to feel confident and be relied upon by others,” Franco told Military.com. “It wasn’t until I was at the recruiting office that I ran into recruiters telling me about visiting other countries and ‘seeing the world,’ so initially my dream was focused on being a subject matter expert rather than the traveling benefits. It wasn’t until after boot camp that I started to be interested in ‘seeing the world’ though I didn’t realize that 70% of it was water!”

But when he was assigned to a submarine, his world consisted of tight, dark spaces and cramped quarters.

“I couldn’t even see the world,” he said. “No windows on a sub.”

Being on a submarine was one of the most difficult challenges of Franco’s life.

“I had to take everything I understood and throw it away in order to learn not only how to do my job, but how to be useful,” he said.

Flipping through periods of being fully staffed and short-staffed, Franco learned several roles and juggled many duties in the submarine, from mission helm to lower-level rover.

“These hats allowed me to be useful and supportive aboard my boat,” Franco said.

During a nine-month deployment, Franco lived a crazy schedule, waking at 10:30 p.m. for watch duties, having a short break in the morning, and then returning to workstations for another full shift. Sleeping in the late afternoons and evenings was often interrupted by meetings and other tasks.

“The longest we stayed submerged was 97 days on my last deployment, to which we came up for roughly six hours to receive a message before returning to submerge for another month,” Franco said.

Injuries Derail Career

Franco served for just over five years, 2015-2020, becoming a petty officer second class (E-5). Two injuries and the death of a close friend affected his career.

“During a training run out to sea, we had a bad fire aboard my ship. That fire started to affect my sleep and mess with my head while I was also dealing with the loss of my friend who took his own life just a month prior,” Franco said. “I didn’t know who to talk to or how to get help for what I was dealing with, and it got really bad before I received any help.”

Franco was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and began self-medicating to fall asleep. But he was still contracted to deploy two more times and wondered how he would get through it.

Then he broke his neck.

“During my last deployment, I was working on the sail when a sailor at the top made a mistake and dropped a tool bag from 20 feet up, which hit the top of my head and crushed my neck, resulting in damage to my C3, C4 and C5 (discs), while simultaneously damaging my L4 and L5 vertebrae,” Franco said.

The injury caused lasting damage. Franco battles partial paralysis and has lost some of his fine motor skills. Due to the traumatic brain injury (TBI), the sailor spent most of his final year in the Navy attending rehab and grunting through intense physical therapy sessions.

On July 28, 2020, his dream to “see the world” died. Franco was ruled unfit for service and was medically retired.

College Provides New Hope

While losing his Navy career was devastating, Franco shifted his focus toward college.

The emergency aid provided by San Bernardino Valley College helped Franco fill a relief gap between the fall and spring semesters during the 2025-26 school year.

“My wife and I saved that money to use it for gas and groceries during that time,” Franco said.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree in business marketing, Franco plans to move to Wyoming or Texas and help promote veteran service organizations.

“I want to establish myself and work alongside entities such as the VA or US Vets to advertise programs and benefits, while also running public relations and support events to be the face of much-needed programs that are unheard of,” Franco said.

Foundation CCC also offers the Finish Line Scholars Program that helps students facing unforeseen challenges stay on course and complete their degree.