SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Diane Bryant went from being homeless to becoming a successful woman in the tech industry.
After more than three decades after she graduated from American River College, the proud alumna returned Wednesday to make a $500,000 donation to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math [STEM] programs.
Bryant, a former Google and Intel executive, told ABC10 her time at ARC had a dramatic effect in her life.
"I was homeless, graduated from high school, and all my friends were heading off to the big fancy universities," Bryant added. "I had no money, and American River College was free, so it was an absolute lifesaver for me."
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After graduating from ARC, Bryant transferred to UC Davis, but explained why it was important to make her contribution to a community college.
"The community college system has done an incredible job of breaking down the barriers of educational discrimination. If I'm going to contribute, I want to contribute to a place that has the same mission that I personally do, which is to grow the diversity of the tech industry, as well as all industries," added Bryant.
Bryant's gift will help build ARC's new STEM Innovation Center, expected to be completed in 2020. She says she hopes to see students like Athena Ghilarducci step into an industry where women are underrepresented.
"If you look at the world of technology, it is incredibly underrepresented," said Bryant. "Only 23 percent of the tech world are women, 6 percent are African American, and only 5 percent are Hispanic."
Ghilarducci, who's graduating ARC with four associate degrees, told ABC10 her time at the community college has helped prepare her for her next step.
"Coming here after high school, it gave me that extra boost to go into UC Berkeley, be prepared, and ready to compete," said Ghilarducci, who plans to major in Computer Science.
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