Daniel Alvarado’s pre-pandemic path was bright.
The first in his family to go to college, the Cathedral City native was in his sophomore year at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Majoring in English and French, he had scholarships to pay his tuition and an on-campus job writing a column for the school newspaper to help make ends meet.
His plan was to graduate in 2023. Then COVID-19 struck and the state shut down in order to curb the spread of the virus.
“At first it seemed like the worst thing that could happen was leaving (school), but little did I know that was just the beginning,” he said.