Edward Fedalizo's Story

Instructional Technology Analyst, Distance Education

"I am forever grateful to our community colleges for the opportunity it provides and the access it affords everyone who has a dream or goal in higher learning. My personal academic journey can be traced back to a humble beginning at the community college. I am an Ilokano descended Filipino American. The youngest of seven children, I am a first-generation college student and the first in my family to attend."

I am forever grateful to our community colleges for the opportunity it provides and the access it affords everyone who has a dream or goal in higher learning. My personal academic journey can be traced back to a humble beginning at the community college. I am an Ilokano descended Filipino American. The youngest of seven children, I am a first-generation college student and the first in my family to attend. I am a De Anza College graduate. While enrolled full-time at De Anza, I also began a career in transportation management. I landed at UPS through the Career Center, became a supervisor, and started a twenty-plus year career run. What I did not realize is I also started a career in education.

After completing the Associate of Arts degree, I transferred to and graduated with a bachelor's degree from UCLA in 1998. Concurrent with my studies at UCLA, I began working at FedEx as a Service Manager. After graduating from UCLA, I chose to continue working for FedEx. I was a natural at logistics, operations management, business administration, and with a four-year degree now in hand, my career skyrocketed. I ascended to senior leadership levels with continuous success, and promotional growth opportunities abounded. Graduate school was not even a thought then, and I did not yet envision the dream to come.

Nearly two decades speed by, and my career is in cruise control. However, my life goals and perspectives evolved. I now yearned to go back to school. I was interested in getting a master's degree, and I began dreaming of becoming a college instructor and an education professional. Making a career change is neither easy nor ideal, and it scared me. However, the vocation to something bigger and grander than oneself cannot be ignored, especially when one finds purpose in it. You see, I did not have to leave my business management life at FedEx. In fact, I was set in a career and could have well finished out the rest of my working years in my comfort zone.

As destiny would have it, I found the courage to close that chapter of life and retired from my business management career and the transportation industry after 20 years. I returned to school in 2016. I earned a master's degree entirely online at the University of Phoenix, and by 2018 I fell in love with eLearning, distance education, instructional technology, online instructional design and identified with its potential.

Thus, I went on to get a second master's degree, an M.S.Ed in Online Teaching and Learning at CSUEB. I freelanced as an instructional designer for nearly two years before finally landing at Mission College in 2021 amid the pandemic to support faculty with our Distance Education Instructional Designs and Instructional Technology.

At Mission College, I have the honor of working alongside dedicated colleagues. It is an honor to serve in support to help others find success in education at every level. Back in 1993, when I entered De Anza College, I never imagined the journey I embarked on would lead me back to the community college space as an educator, contributor, advocate, professional, and architect for student success. Yet I believe we at the community college share in the collective work to improve lives, find victory over adversity, and fight against all odds. The community college is where I began, and like for many of you, the space is my personal sanctuary.

What started out as a dream became a personal vision for my future, and with a leap of faith, it too came to pass. The journey ahead has found me, and I am studying Ilokano and Tagalog at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Philippine Language and Culture degree program. I am obtaining this degree because I have a dream and vision to teach Philippine languages and Philippine studies at the community college.

So, my friends, if a dream wakes up in your heart and a vocation calls, it is my hope you lean in with courage and faith to walk toward it. Your biggest dream is yet to be revealed, so never is it too late to pursue it. The learning process never ends, and your most remarkable work is yet to come. Dream big, see yourself in it and take a chance on yourself.”

Fun Facts

I enjoy solving the many variations of the Rubik's cube puzzle. I am not a speedcuber by any stretch, but I do find great joy and satisfaction in finishing a solution. Also, while in graduate school, I served as a mailman for the Mission Station US Post Office in Santa Clara.