Alumnus Abelino Gregorio was recently featured by Palomar News to discuss his journey as a transfer student and his path to studying architecture. Graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture this spring, Abelino is originally from Guatemala and started his first English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Palomar when he was 16 and still attending San Marcos High School.
As he said, “I knew zero English, and I knew it was going to be a challenge. I didn’t really know how the system worked in general—how to apply for universities, and how to decide where to go.” Abelino graduated high school in 2011, started attending Palomar full-time, and earned his Associate of Arts in 2015. From there, Gregorio transferred to Woodbury University in downtown San Diego, and he graduated this May.
“When I was a kid, I was always interested in building things,” he said. “In high school, I was thinking about architecture, but I didn’t know how an architecture program would work. I liked drawing and design. There are a lot of things involved in architecture—the technology, the construction industry.”
Today, Gregorio works for a small firm while he looks for a full-time job in real estate development. He said he keeps thinking about the price of housing and how “a lot of people are struggling” with rising rents around Southern California—an urgent concern that he hopes to play a role in alleviating.