Nineteen-year-old Christopher Kazanchi has a clear vision for his future, and he’s not afraid to work hard for it. In the fall of 2023, Kazanchi completed eight courses in one semester at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.
“It was 23 units, and I’ll tell you it was not easy,” the political science major at Grossmont College said recently. “But I did it with a lot of motivation, just to prove to myself that I can handle the rigor at a school like UCLA or even a school like Cornell.”
By mid-May, Kazanchi had already been accepted to UCSD, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara, and of those universities he had his sights set on UCLA. But he’s also still waiting to hear from Cornell, Columbia, and New York University (NYU). By the time he graduates from Grossmont College, he will have completed 79 units, exceeding the 60-unit requirement to transfer.
The thoughtful and articulate young man says he wants to go to law school to become an attorney, most likely in corporate law and perhaps specializing in intellectual property, patent law, or mergers and acquisitions. “I haven’t narrowed it down yet,” he said.
Kazanchi, who has maintained a 4.0 grade point average at Grossmont, is one of 122 students statewide who won a place on the 2024 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-California Academic Honor Roll.
He admits that a few years ago he didn’t have a lot of direction. Kazanchi, who was raised in East County, began his college journey at San Diego Mesa College but after a while it didn’t seem like the right fit. He wanted to go to school closer to his church in El Cajon, where he volunteers, and it soon became clear that Grossmont was a better option. It took a while to find some academic focus, however. He started off as a psychology major, then he switched to business, then became undeclared. Then he took some classes in political science, and everything clicked. “I found a passion for legal studies … and political science is one of the biggest pipelines into law school,” he said.
At Grossmont, Kazanchi has been an active member of the forensics program. He credits the program for propelling his college career. “I’ve learned so much from it and I’ve developed a passion,” he said. “I’m so fortunate to be at a community college where we’re able to compete in these tournaments.” Kazanchi also credited his professors at Grossmont for recognizing his own drive to excel and mentoring him.
Outside of college, Kazanchi has worked as a legislative intern for San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson, where he also became an assistant internship coordinator to recruit other young people who are interested in government service. After completing two 125-hour internships, he now works nearly full time for Anderson overseeing nearly $5 million in grant funding. He also works part-time at a local law firm to build experience.
The opportunity to work in regional government is one of many that Kazanchi has chosen to seize, to push beyond where he thought he could go. “I’ve wanted to prove to myself that I could continue to break barriers, continue to break my glass ceilings,” he said.