[MUSIC PLAYING]
TIM SANDOVAL: So I grew up in the city of Pomona.
And when I graduated from Pomona High School,
the school that I accepted was Claremont McKenna College.
It just happens that at that particular moment,
I was going to some very real challenges in my life.
My father-- my parents separated.
And middle of my second year, I failed.
But I knew that I wanted to continue college.
I wanted to make sure that I took care of my mom,
at some point.
And I enrolled at Chaffey Community College.
I was pretty lost when I arrived at Chaffey College.
And I met a lot of people who took an interest in me when
I needed it most.
And that's what that place can do.
Is it can transform a life, and it transformed my.
It saved me.
So for that reason, I'm forever grateful for that Chaffey
experience.
So after I graduated from Chaffey,
I decided to go to UC Riverside.
And graduated with a BA in English literature.
Shortly after I graduated, I was asked
to help co-found a nonprofit in Pomona, called Bright Prospect.
It was a program that was intended
to help the young people from this community, who
were, perhaps, were thinking of going to schools
like UCLA and Berkeley.
To get them to consider going to schools
that they had never heard of before.
Those schools also wanted to diversify.
So they provided tremendous financial aid.
So $50,000, $60,000 education--
fully funded.
I think over time, it became clear to me
that Pomona really needed political change.
I had been working with these young people
from this community for close to 15 years.
And I wanted to make sure that we
didn't lose those kids, where sometimes communities
have this brain drain because we haven't created
the opportunities for them to come back,
and to serve in some capacity.
And I really felt at the time that what we needed
was youth leadership.
And I was elected mayor, in November 2016.
Shortly after I was elected, when the state passed SB 54--
the California Values Act--
we, as a city, also passed an ordinance
saying that we respect our diverse community.
And that we are going to ensure their safety.
And our city elected to build a homeless service center.
What we said is, let's do the right thing.
Let's make sure that we have a place for them
to get their lives back.
And so this past December, we opened up the Homeless Services
Center, which is currently housing
over 200 homeless people.
So in this position, we're able to create
policy that has a tremendous impact
on the lives of our residents.
If I could be in a position to help others who,
by extension, could help their families,
then I believe that I've fulfilled my calling.