SBVC Nurse, Crafton Hills Firefighter Share Affordable Paths to Local Careers

Long before Karen Miranda Diaz became a nurse, she was a 9-year-old standing near a young boy who had been struck by a vehicle outside her home.

The child was unresponsive. Diaz said she followed instructions over the phone and performed CPR. Later, while visiting him at the hospital, a nurse told her that what she had done helped save his life.

Years later, a different roadside emergency pointed Anthony Estrada toward his own career.

Estrada was driving home from work, between Cabazon and Beaumont, when he came across a serious crash and stopped to help. Unsure what to do, he watched firefighters, police officers and paramedics arrive, organize the scene and care for those involved.

“Once the scene was clear, I knew instantly that I wanted to be part of the fire department,” Estrada said.

He followed the fire engine back to its station, knocked on the door and asked how he could become a firefighter.

Those experiences eventually brought Diaz and Estrada to San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College, where both said affordability, faculty support and access to resources helped turn career ambitions into reality.

For Diaz, the path back to school came after roughly 10 to 15 years away from college. She had gotten married, became a mother and was living about five minutes from SBVC, in Colton, when she began reconsidering her future.

“I need to go back to school, something that’s near me,” Diaz recalled thinking.

She enrolled around fall 2019. Getting into SBVC’s nursing program required persistence: Diaz said her first application was denied, but she applied again and was accepted.

She completed the program in about two years while juggling classes, labs, clinical work and studying — a commitment she estimated at 40 to 50 hours each week. She graduated from SBVC in May 2025 and also completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing through a bridge pathway with Cal State San Bernardino.

Today, Diaz works at Redlands Community Hospital in a step-down telemetry unit caring for patients who are one level below intensive care. She has also received a DAISY Award recognizing nursing excellence.

Diaz said financial aid, grants, scholarships and counselors helped make college attainable, particularly as an adult student and parent.

“There’s so many scholarships and grants that are available for students, even financial aid,” Diaz said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing when I started.”

Estrada, from Redlands, also entered community college with finances on his mind.

After deciding on firefighting, he enrolled at Crafton Hills College, where he studied fire technology, completed the fire academy and later returned for paramedic training.

“My biggest concern was, can I afford to go to college?” Estrada said.

He said financial aid and a Board of Governors fee waiver helped cover classes, while aid also helped with books, uniforms and other expenses. During the paramedic program, Estrada was working part time and said mounting bills put his education at risk.

He credited Crafton Hills paramedic program director Amanda Ward with connecting him to additional financial resources.

“Because of Amanda Ward’s help, I was able to not only complete the program, but successfully complete the program with honors,” Estrada said.

Flexible scheduling also helped him stay enrolled while working and living on his own. Estrada recalled taking morning, evening, weekend and late-night classes to keep moving toward his goal.

He is now a firefighter-paramedic with San Bernardino County Fire and said he has been with the department for about three and a half years.

Estrada said Crafton Hills stood out because instructors pushed students beyond minimum requirements and remained accessible when students needed help.

“They didn’t just treat you like you were just a college number or like an ID number,” Estrada said. “They actually treated you like an individual.”

The experiences of Diaz and Estrada come as the San Bernardino Community College District seeks community input about the future of SBVC and Crafton Hills College through its Affordable College Survey.

SBCCD serves about 30,000 students and offers workforce training in areas including health care, emergency response and skilled trades. The district says attending SBVC or Crafton Hills costs about one-sixth as much as a California State University and about one-sixteenth as much as a University of California campus.

The survey asks current and former students, families, employers and other community members to rank priorities, assess long-term needs and identify services they believe local colleges should emphasize.

Feedback gathered so far has highlighted safe and healthy learning environments, training for local jobs and skilled trades, and preparation for future workforce needs. SBCCD says the feedback is being used to inform long-term planning and does not represent a proposal or final decision.

For Diaz, the impact now extends beyond her own career. She said relatives, neighbors and friends ask her for guidance about pursuing higher education, and her mother is now considering attending SBVC.

Estrada offers similarly simple advice to people who worry that college may not fit their finances or schedules.

“Just apply,” he said.

“Crafton always had a solution to one of my problems,” Estrada said.

To take SBCCD’s Affordable College Survey and share input on the future of San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College, click here.