College didn’t take for Kalon Bell the first time around. He preferred working and when a job in the insurance field paid off at a young age, he opted out of classes.
For a couple years, work was enough. But then, he found he wanted more. So college beckoned again, and this time it stuck.
Now, with an undergraduate degree from UC San Diego and a master’s from San Diego State, Bell is settling into his position as a counselor at San Diego City College. He has taken on the additional role of coordinator for the A2MEND Charter, as well as co-coordinator of the Umoja program, which provides a support system for Black and other historically underrepresented students.
A counselor at Miramar College, Kirk Webley, played a big role in his career choice. Bell saw someone, also a Black man, guiding others and realized, “I want to help folks that look like me and help them navigate college. And so I found my purpose.”
“I truly believe, because I’m a product of it, that education can change the trajectory of a person,” he said.
He admits that during his first college stint he wasn’t motivated. But the lifelong San Diegan, born and raised in Lemon Grove, turned it around, becoming a 4.0 student who was dedicated enough to enroll at different community colleges in the region – not just Miramar, but also City College and Mesa, along with campuses in the Grossmont Community College District – when it fit his needs. “If it wasn’t available at one campus, I didn't mind driving,” Bell said.
He also had an in-house support system. His wife, Masuma Mohammadi, was pursuing her education at the same time – she completed her studies at Miramar and UCSD as well and embarked upon a career in counseling too, but at Mesa College. They also are now parents, having welcomed their son Yunas Hakeem Bell, who turned one in January.
As someone not just new to City College, but also to the counseling field, Bell said he is “learning something new every single day for sure.” But he likens counseling to another field where it’s crucial to find the right fit.
“It’s being student centered,” he said, “focusing on students and realizing as a counselor, as a coordinator, you’re a tailor, because everybody’s different, coming from different backgrounds with different struggles and different strengths.”
Yet representation can create a common path despite the differences.
“I felt that when it comes to school, especially some of the schools that I went to, I didn’t quite feel like I belonged there, an issue that most folks of color deal with,” he said, “but when there is representation among counselors and professors, there’s reassurance that we do belong here. We’re in here.”