Kristine Borrayo and Jessica Lizardi

Kristine Borrayo has been employed by OCC since 2001. Since 2011, she has worked in the college’s Career Placement Services department where she has experienced her most valuable experiences relating to students with autism, autism spectrum disorder, and those who struggle with learning challenges. It is here where she has worked to encourage, equip with resources, help to eliminate barriers and locate successful employment opportunities for those students on or off campus.

Kristine is a mother of 3, wife and a grandparent who has spent a significant amount of time advocating for her own children; all who struggle with some form of learning disability and/or ADD, ADHD or ASD. Kristine has developed a heart for autistic students, students on the spectrum and those with learning disabilities and has vowed to make a difference for these students by working to empower them with the support they need.

Jessica Lizardi has worked in various positions at OCC since 2005. Her most valuable campus experiences relating to autism have been directly working with students in the classroom as an adjunct, teaching American Government, and as a Coordinator for Student Development, overseeing student organizations. During her time in the classroom and advising the diverse student leaders in Student Life, Jessica encountered many autistic students and witnessed the adversity they faced. They demonstrated valiant persistence in spite of the obstacles presented by their diagnosis. In 2013, when her own son was diagnosed with autism, Jessica became a champion and ally for autistic students at OCC, often advocating the need for additional support programs for these students. She developed “brown bag socials” to encourage friendships between student leaders and students on the spectrum and created learning opportunities through the Diversity Committee and Student Life to educate faculty and neuro-typical students about autism. After meeting the autistic advocate Dr. Temple Grandin at a conference on autism in 2016, her well known phrase “Different, not less” became a permanent part of Jessica’s vernacular and then an inspiration for this scholarship.

Both Kristine and Jessica hopes the scholarship serves as sign to autistic students and those with learning disabilities at OCC that there are people who will always believe in them and see their potential for greatness.