A blond man in army fatigues rolled his wheelchair through the Career Center door. Around him swooped a Hawaiian woman, flower pinned behind her left ear, moving fast.

“Good Morning, everyone!” shouted the Hawaiian career counselor, Cami Vignoe. She met the blond man at her desk, slung off her red flowered backpack, unpacked a plate of homemade cupcakes, unpeeled her iPod from her arm and dabbed the sheen from her forehead.

“How can we help you today?” she asked, and offers him a cupcake.

In August 2009, California’s unemployment rate climbed to 12.2 percent. The number of re-entry students over the age of 25 also increased dramatically, with many in a personal or financial crisis. No one knows these challenges better than Vignoe.

“This is where people come when they have completely run out of options,” she said.

Vignoe is a career counselor, Ph.D. student, teacher and coordinator of the Career and Life Transitions Program at City College. This program assists older students returning to college.

“When I connect with someone who wants to get somewhere but doesn’t know how, all they have to do is meet me half way,” she said. “We can ignite a fire together!”

Chris Phillips, Director of the Career Center, is a fan of Vignoe’s work.

“I can’t say enough about her skills as a counselor, but it’s her positive energy that separates her from other people,” Philips said. “She knows how to provide the right resources.”

But it took Vignoe a long time to get to where she is today.

Born and raised in Hawaii, she has 11 siblings and 29 nieces and nephews. In 1990, she moved to Santa Barbara where she found it difficult to get a good job.

“The kind of work I was offered here was… housekeeping and dishwashing. It really broke my spirit,” she said. “I finally ended up getting a waitressing job. I knew I would keep ending up with this kind of work unless I got educated.”

Now, Vignoe works with more than 300 students. Some have once made six figure incomes, but several are now homeless and living out of their cars.

“When you have made a lot of money and you have to start over, it is very humbling,” she said.

William was one of those students whose job became obsolete due to changes in technology. He relocated from the Bay Area, began working with Vignoe in 2007, and in 2009, he graduated with honors.

“I may be an old dog but I can learn new tricks!” William said. Now over the age of 50, William has had more job offers than he can accept.

Watching William graduate was one of Vignoe’s most memorable days. It helped complete a circle she started more than 15 years ago when at 26-years-old, she returned to school. Now she is able to assist others in making their dreams come true.

In her native Hawaii, the Aloha Spirit is state law and it mandates that everyone is welcomed and to be treated with compassion, empathy and kindness.

“Aloha Spirit is about love,” Vignoe said. “It’s in our blood and it is passed from generation to generation. It’s in the culture.”

Bonnie Chavez, the business professor who nurtured Vignoe when she was a struggling student 15 years ago, saw her Aloha Spirit from the beginning.

“I knew if she pursued and utilized her gifts, she would have the opportunity to give back,” Bonnie said. “And lo and behold, here we are so many years later.”

To the frightened older adults who hesitate enrolling at City College, Vignoe said, “Fear is just a little to the side of excitement. You can do it, walk with me!”

-Mary Ann Johnstone is a
Journalism 271 student