Steve Kinsella
Making Gavilan Great
Written By Robin Shepherd
L
ike many parents, education fell
off my radar after writing that last
college tuition check and watching
my youngest toss his cap in the air
on graduation day. My attitude changed
in the spring of 2014 when Dr. Steven
Kinsella, President and Superintendent of
Gavilan College, addressed my Leadership
Morgan Hill class for our “Education Day”
program.
Steve strode into the meeting room
with a warm smile, stopping to greet and
shake hands with me and my classmates
as he made his way to the speaker’s table.
In his presentation, Steve let the facts
speak for themselves. South County has
a growing need to provide relevant and
affordable post-secondary education and
training opportunities, and Gavilan Joint
Community College district is meeting
this need.
After a long and distinguished career
in education, it’s safe to say Steve “has
arrived.” His is a remarkable journey,
from working student, to teacher, to
administrator and leader in the California
community college system. On the eve of
his retirement, Steve took time out to share
his story with
TODAY .
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The Kid from Connecticut
As a high school senior, Steve had no real
prospects for college. He’d grown up in a
small Connecticut town where the Marine
Corps had a strong presence, and his older
brother had already joined the military. It
seemed like a logical path to follow, and he
wanted to see the world. In 1975, Steve’s
last year of high school, he enlisted. Ten
12
days after graduation he was in uniform.
Based on some proficiency tests dur-
ing bootcamp, Steve was assigned to a
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
in bookkeeping. It wasn’t quite how he
had envisioned life in the military, but the
Marine Corps emphasized education, and
Steve was hungry to learn.
“Suddenly there I was, taking accounting
classes for college credit, and I got hooked,”
Steve said.
During the latter half of the 1970s, Steve
was stationed in Hawaii. His off-duty hours
were spent working as a part-time security
guard and earning his B.A. degree in
Accounting from Hawaii Pacific University.
In Hawaii he also met and married his wife
Linda, a native of Hong Kong who grew up
in the islands.
“We were young when we met but I
could see right away that Steve was very
dedicated to the Marines and to bettering
himself,” Linda said. “He’s a very serious
man but has a fun-loving side too.”
Soldier, Student and Family Man
During the 1980s, Steve was stationed at
Marine bases in North Carolina, Southern
California and Virginia. Time was split
between his duties as an auditor for the
Marine Corps, earning an MBA degree, get-
ting his CPA license, and raising a family.
Steve transferred to the Marine Corps
Reserve in 1989. He had been assigned to
a new MOS as a combat engineer. Then
came the Gulf War. In 1990, his unit was
called to active duty and deployed to the
Middle East for a six-month tour.
“Our unit provided fuel and