The Don & Juanita Cordero and Family Scholarship Endowment

Established in 2015, this endowment provides perpetual scholarships to science, nursing and education majors attending Mission College.

Don and Juanita were a magical couple. They shared the love of many things - spirituality, education, and most importantly, a compassion to help others.

Family was extremely important to Don and Juanita. Each of their five children is successful in his/her own right. All the children attended community college at some time along their life path. Collectively, the number of college degrees this family holds is impressive.

Family Patriarch Don Cordero (who lost his challenging battle with cancer in 2007) was a truly amazing man. Don completed a bachelor's degree with a double major in physics and philosophy. Always a curious mind, Don later took graduate classes in astronomy and physics then proceeded to earn a master's in counseling. Don was also a Jesuit priest who served the order until 1970. As fate would have it, Don met Juanita and they were a perfect match! They soon married which made Don's life complete.

In 1974, Don was hired by West Valley College as a counselor, and in 1978, he transferred to the district's "new" Mission College where he developed counseling and education programs for a diverse student population. He was well liked and respected by his students evidenced by the "Teacher of the Year" award he received in 2005. He was president of the Academic Senate and later ran for office securing a seat on the governing board for the West Valley-Mission Community College District, a position he respectively held until a mighty health challenge got in the way.

There was no question that Don met his intellectual match with his loving wife, Juanita. She, too, was an educator, who returned to school to earn a Certificate in Nursing followed by a Master's degree in Human Development. With her own spiritual calling to priesthood, Juanita had a yearning to learn even more and furthered her knowledge with a Master's Degree in Theology followed by a Doctorate in Theology, all while teaching full-time at De Anza College.

Juanita enjoyed sharing her knowledge with others, a passion which trailed back to her tenure as an elementary school teacher. She also expanded her horizons by entering the medical profession where she taught childbirth preparation classes for more than 20 years.

Juanita taught part-time at both Mission and West Valley Colleges until hired full-time at De Anza College, where she oversaw the Education Department for future elementary school teachers.

In 2006, Juanita was ordained as a deacon, one of the first women to receive this distinction in the United States. A year later, she was ordained as the first female Roman Catholic Priest in California's history. Today, she is Pastor of the Magdala Catholic Community. She serves as a mentor to many individuals including those considering the vocation of priesthood.

The fruit does not fall far from the tree in the Cordero Family. Each of the five children - Angel, Jonathan, Jose, Maria, and Rebecca - are remarkable. Through quality education at the community college and university level (combined with the wisdom they received from their parents), the Cordero children are now following their own paths as Engineer, U.S. Mail Carrier, Nurse, Physical Therapist, and Physician Assistant.

A mirror to the career diversity of this inspirational family, the Don & Juanita Cordero and Family Scholarship is open to Mission College students who are seeking a major in the field of science, nursing, or education. Students applying for this scholarship should be in good academic standing.