(SANTA ANA, Calif.) — Santa Ana College Foundation (SAC) has been awarded a gift of $2.21 million from the Samueli Foundation to expand Santa Ana College's paid work-based learning opportunities, strengthen career pathways, and increase living wages for students in Culinary Arts, Automotive Technology, and Diesel-Electric Transportation Technology. This is the single largest private philanthropic gift the SAC Foundation has received in it's history and reflects a shared commitment between SAC and the Samueli Foundation to help students complete meaningful degree attainment in conjunction with receiving the vital career exposure needed to move directly into stable, well-paying careers.
The gift builds on SAC's role as a driver of opportunity across Orange County. Santa Ana College supports more than 16,000 jobs and generates $1.6 billion in economic impact for the region each year. This investment aims to grow that impact further, preparing more students for high-demand, living-wage careers close to home. This investment is also a direct reflection of the Santa Ana College Foundation’s strategic plan, which is commitment to increase funding in work based experiential learning.
The funding will support three connected priorities:
$750,000 to launch paid internships through SAC's Career Center, giving students in Culinary Arts and Automotive Technology hands-on, compensated experience with local employers before they graduate.
$1,160,000 for new automotive equipment, modernizing instructional labs so students train on the same technologies that are standard in the automotive industry. This equipment includes electric, hybrid, and alternative-fuel systems that students would encounter on the job.
$300,000 to fund faculty and staff support in coordinating and implementing the college's growing career-readiness efforts. Faculty and staff will lead employer engagement, student support, grant administration, and track outcomes, ensuring that the investment translates into real opportunity and internship access for students.
"We are ecstatic and grateful for this gift, which will help equip our students for the workforce and open a direct pathway to careers offering a full-cost-of-living wage after they graduate from Santa Ana College," said Dr. Annebelle Nery, President of Santa Ana College. "Our care for students extends far beyond their time at SAC, and this gift lets us show them that in a tangible way. "A paid internship rather than an unpaid one can change the entire trajectory of a student's future."
This investment reflects a vision Dr. Nery set in motion nearly three years ago: to build a direct connection from the classroom to the workplace, so that pursuing educational pathways at SAC doesn't just prepare students for a career but also hands them the connections and experience to start one, or, in some cases, employ them directly upon completing their degree or certificate. The landscape of higher education is changing, and Santa Ana College is responding to that change. Classroom training is not enough to ensure that the investment of time and energy students put into earning a degree or certificate will result in a successful career. The Samueli Foundation's investment in our students' ability to access real world experience through paid internships, upgrade needed equipment in the classroom and provide the infrastructure begins to change that narrative. It pushes us in the California Community Colleges to be better, as we now must learn to scale work-based learning as an expectation for all students in degree pathways, as opposed to an exception for the few fortunate enough to find those opportunities. This vision has also been included in the Santa Ana College’s Foundation strategic goals, since 2025.
Since then, the Connect to Career initiative has taken shape through expanded employer partnerships, work-based learning, and a growing focus on the social capital that helps students translate a degree into a job.
The Samueli Foundation's investment is the latest and largest step in bringing that vision to scale.
SAC Connect to Career pilot was developed in collaboration with SAC Foundation to provide funding for students who find relevant and impactful internships that are unpaid. Internship sites are selected based on current activity with Santa Ana College and the potential to develop a pipeline for jobs.
“The relationships that are built through philanthropy represent such a unique intersection, where shared values and visions can be fueled by investments that reflect a mission to better our communities, together. To have the Samueli Foundation’s trust, represented in this partnership and this transformational gift, is where the most powerful community synergy is born. The Samueli Foundation’s commitment to move this work forward with us, has been a significant affirming move in the Santa Ana College Foundation’s relentless passion for our students,” said Christina Romero, the Executive Director of College Advancement & Foundation.
Santa Ana College sees the greatest long-term potential in expanding Culinary Arts training capacity. The funding will support enrollment growth in Culinary Arts and open new credit and noncredit workforce training options for the community. The program's paid internships will place students directly in professional kitchens and food-service operations across Orange County. This support will also help close talent acquisition gaps. Alongside this, investment in Automotive Technology and Diesel-Electric Transportation Technology will modernize instructional environments to keep pace with an industry rapidly shifting toward electric, hybrid, and alternative-fuel vehicles. Students will now be able to receive hands-on training on the same equipment they would use in their careers.
Giselle Gomez Ortega has been studying at the SAC Culinary Arts program and hopes to open her own coffee shop
Giselle Gomez Ortega, a SAC student in the Culinary Arts program and aspires to open her own coffee shop, shared about the impact this donation will make on her department. "This donation is important for the Culinary Arts program. This money given to us will be beneficial since we do need a new kitchen setting. It helps to have more space for students, which can increase participation and enrollment," said Ortega. "I really enjoy this program because it got me out of my comfort zone. I've enjoyed learning new culture and dishes as well."
“To have the full support of the college and Foundation was key in this milestone,” shared Dr. Nery. “The Santa Ana College Foundation Board of Directors and Santa Ana College’s full executive leadership team, including Dean of Instruction and Student Services Lorena Chavez, Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Matthew Morin, and SAC Foundation President David Valentin. Their work was instrumental in receiving this gift.”
To get involved in Santa Ana College’s Philanthropy work, please visit, www.givetosac.org For more information on how to become a partner, please contact the Office of College Advancement & SAC Foundation at foundation@sac.edu or 714-564-6091.
About Santa Ana College: Santa Ana College (SAC), founded in 1915, serves more than 70,000 students yearly for credit and noncredit classes. At present, SAC students can work toward completing an associate degree, university transfer, career/workforce training or a bachelor's degree in occupational studies. In 2025, the college launched a second bachelor's degree in Paralegal Studies. As part of Santa Ana College, the School of Continuing Education located at Centennial Education Center offers free classes throughout the community for adults of all ages and academic backgrounds. Santa Ana College is an award-winning college and was recently ranked as one of the nation's top two-year colleges awarding associate degrees to Latino and Asian students and named one of the best community colleges in California by Intelligent.com for a 2nd consecutive year. The college is also recognized throughout the state for its comprehensive workforce training programs for nurses, firefighters, law enforcement and medical personnel.