Educational Background

About Sandra Villarreal

I grew up in the Lower Yakima Valley, and I graduated high school with a job but without a plan. At the urging of my mother, I started taking night classes on the Grandview campus of Yakima Valley College. One class at a time, while working I built up momentum and eventually transferred to a university. Later, I went on to earn my masters’ from St. Mary’s University. My path was not a straight line, it was a curvy one. So, it is truly a full circle moment for me to be able to teach where I started my academic journey. 

In my work experience, I have worked as a partner for schools and educational programs and have served as an advisor, mentor and advocate for students working with programs such as ESD 105, Communities in School, Upward Bound, Wenatchee Valley College and TRIO Student Support Services. I started teaching communications at the college because I believe communication skills are valuable and transferrable to many different career fields and areas. 
I love teaching communications, as it is always evolving and examples can be found every day in real life situations. Our students bring personal experience, social capitol and knowledge into the classroom. 

I acknowledge that and help them leverage those skills as they prepare for the next step in their journey. I encourage students to identify their strengths and use them as they navigate through college and into their careers. Communication skills are about power, connection, dynamics, non verbal cues, negotiation, etc. When we learn these concepts and examine how they are applied in business and social encounters, students understand how to maximize these interactions. 

I look forward to teaching students and being part of their academic journey here at Yakima Valley College.