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Pintack Gualotuna

Student Spotlight: Pintack Gualotuna

April 23, 2024 Torrance

Pintack Gualotuna had a slow start when he first enrolled at El Camino. The North Torrance High School grad wasn’t familiar with the higher education experience and entered college realizing he needed to learn how to study, manage his time and excel in his classes.

Like many college freshmen, he also found himself under stress from other responsibilities and a growing course workload. That’s when he decided that El Camino would give him a chance to start from scratch and renew his focus on academics. His work paid off and he now has a 4.0 GPA and plans to transfer to a university in the fall.

“I didn’t know the value of education for a big portion of my life,” said Gualotuna, a political science major. “Now I found that El Camino was the place for me to put my best foot forward where I could push the limits of mental boundaries and see how far I could go. I also faced a lot of solitude because I didn’t have anyone to show me the ropes and I realized that in order to establish a network of success you have to be a part of certain programs.”

Gualotuna soon joined El Camino’s First Year Experience, the Honors Transfer Program, and EOPS, which helped him find the community he needed. He also had opportunities for leadership, attended conferences and realized his potential to succeed in law school – another academic goal he established.

He’s on track to graduate and transfer to a university so he decided he wanted to help students who were in the same position he was in a year ago. Now the political science major works with El Camino’s Student Equity & Achievement program, ensuring students are confident and ready for college.

“I like guiding students through the process,” Gualotuna said. “I don’t see myself as someone who has all the answers but I’m someone who can be there to help others learn skills that will help at El Camino and their next college. It is my mission to be there for other people who might also find themselves lost.”