Lester Neal grew up on the south side of Chicago. He became a father at just 15 years old and was the first person in his family to graduate from high school. Neal heard about Ventura College from a friend of a friend. Wanting to do something better with his life, he moved to Ventura in 1989 on his own. It was a culture shock for Neal coming from Chicago and he didn’t feel like he “fit in”. He gives much credit to his VC Counselor at the time, Becky Hull, (recently retired from VC). Hull encouraged him to stay in school and to utilize all the resources Ventura College has to offer. When he started he was a struggling 2.0 GPA student and graduated with a 3.4 GPA. Neal also played on the Men’s Basketball team and won “Player of the Year” both years he attended. In 2008, Neal was inducted into the VC Athletics Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was inducted into the California Community College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Neal transferred to Arizona State University in 1991 to study social work. Earning a spot on the basketball team, he led the Pack 10 conference in rebounds as an under-sized forward. For his dedication and work ethic, ASU created an award in his honor, “The Lester Neal Warrior Award”, which was given to players after Neal graduated.
Neal left ASU though, after just 2 years, to play professional basketball overseas. He played for many European, Asian and South American teams. He returned to ASU 20 years later to earn his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. Neal says, “That was my biggest accomplishment, to be the first person in my family to attend and graduate from college.”
In 2017, Lester Neal was offered an Assistant Coach position for the Men’s Basketball team at Ventura College. “I didn’t hesitate at all. Ventura raised me and it was my second home,” he says. In 2019, Neal was offered the additional post as Career Education Outreach Specialist.
Ventura College is very lucky to have Lester Neal on our staff, teaching and sharing his experiences and determination with our students.