Father and student feels grounded and grateful at CSUMB

By Roger Ruvolo

Universities offer programs, financial aid and other help to fuel student advancement. Cal State Monterey Bay student — and father — Juan Barkley could not have attended college without that tangible help. What’s more, the intangible help he’s received has enabled him to flourish. 

Many universities have a few older students who return to school after working at least part of their adult lives. And those older students often bring children in tow. Barkley, a former construction worker, will be among CSUMB’s students who will celebrate Father’s Day. 

Barkley, 42, raised three children on his own and still has one at home. And a twist: he spent a significant portion of his earlier life incarcerated. 

“Me and my kids are very close,” Barkley said. “They come to me with problems and successes and just to share. It was just me raising them, so we got pretty close.” 

An environmental science major, Barkley said a 2020 car accident — he and some friends were out carousing when the accident occurred — helped him turn around his life despite serious injuries. He stopped drinking (he’s been sober for four years) and applied his efforts to academics. 

“My kids are my biggest fans. They love that I went back to school; they love that I changed my life,” he said. 

He brought to CSUMB a 3.5 grade-point average from Sierra College, where he served as president of the campus’ Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students. 

Barkley, who just completed his junior year, moved on to CSUMB in 2024 with one son who will soon turn 18 (a daughter, 21, and another son, 25, are already out on their own). The children’s mother left the family while they were still young, Barkley said, and does not stay in touch. 

Today, Barkley, his son, and his service dog, live in campus-owned housing. 

“[The university] offers family housing, which is really cool,” Barkley said. “It’s a whole community of four-plexes.” Some federal grant money from Free Application for Federal Student Aid helps pay the rent.

Barkley and his son are able to meet the rest of the family in Sacramento and often go listen to music.

“Oh yeah, music really ties us together,” he said. “Music is life. We go listen to concerts, cover bands, all kinds of music. Me being a parent so young, we have a lot of music in common. We all like classic rock.”   

Barkley was raised in the foster-care system before his adoption. 

“I was wild,” he said “I was on the wrong side. … After the accident, I straightened out.”

And once at CSUMB, Barkley excelled. 

“I’m very grateful to be here,” Barkley said of CSUMB. “I’m here because I truly want to be here. I’m very involved on campus.” 

He’s a student coordinator for Project Rebound, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals pursue an education. And he is a part of Guardian Scholars, which helps support students who spent time in the foster care system. 

As someone wanting to earn a doctorate degree, he is being mentored at the UROC. 

“This is preparatory for students who want to go for a PhD,” he said. 

Barkley just completed his junior year with a 4.0 grade-point average. For good measure, in fall 2025, Barkley will be president of the Family-Friendly Club on campus. 

“Oh yeah, the club is a big part of making campus welcoming,” Barkley said. “This is a welcoming campus anyway, but the club helps parenting students by connecting them with others who are also raising kids.” 

All this is not too much, Barkley said. 

“As a parenting student who has to work, the load is slightly higher,” he deadpanned. But underneath it is his deepest commitment: “I hold a strong belief that education has the power to transform lives.”