Daisy Arellano

Finding Her Village at the Child Development Center

When Daisy Stephanie Arellano first walked into Río Hondo College’s Child Development Center (CDC), she was not a student or a staff member. She was a single mother in search of trustworthy childcare. What she found was more than a program. She found her village.

“My mom had been helping with my daughter but when she had to return to work, I suddenly had no one to rely on,” Arellano said. “By the grace of God, I found the Child Development Center. It became a place that welcomed my daughter and supported her growth.”

Her oldest daughter, Ariadne, 4, has been enrolled at the CDC for three years. “She is adventurous, curious, caring and independent because of the environment here,” Arellano said. Her youngest, Luna, 1, has been on the waitlist since birth. While Daisy hopes the CDC will one day expand to serve infants, she looks forward to the day Luna turns two and can join the program.

Arellano’s academic journey did not begin at Río Hondo College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Education from the University of California, Irvine, followed by a Human Resources Management Certificate from Cal Poly Pomona. At the time, she thought classroom teaching might not be the right fit. But her perspective changed after she experienced the CDC as a parent.

“Being at the CDC reignited my passion for education and motivated me to return to school to study Early Childhood Education,” she said. “Because of the incredible support I receive from my village, having access to quality care for my daughter and a flexible, part-time job, I’ve been able to enroll in Child Development courses here at Río.”

Today, Arellano is both a Child Development major on track to graduate in Summer 2026 and a staff member at the CDC. “The CDC is more than childcare. It is a supportive community that understands the challenges student parents face,” she said. “As both a staff member and a student parent, I can say the staff here are compassionate, dedicated and committed to helping children and families thrive. Without the CDC, I would not have been able to come back to school.”

Her journey shows that higher education is not always a straight path. Sometimes it takes finding the right community to uncover one’s true purpose. For Daisy, Río Hondo has become the place where her education, her career and her role as a mother come together.