Roadtrip Nation: Bryce Cristiano and Cordero Holmes Find Common Ground In Higher Learning

Roadtrip Nation: Bryce Cristiano and Cordero Holmes Find Common Ground In Higher Learning

Last fall Rio Salado College collaborated with Roadtrip Nation to provide six of our students with a unique opportunity to take part in a documentary film. Three students went on the road to interview successful alumni and former students across the U.S. while another three students got to have informative one-on-one interviews close to home. One of those at-home students, Cordero Holmes, interviewed aspiring filmmaker and City College of New York student Bryce Cristiano. 

While both students come from wildly different backgrounds, they share some commonalities. Both of them are heavily involved in Phi Theta Kappa and have won top honors as All-Arizona Academic Scholars. They also have the distinction of being the Student Speaker for their respective Commencements—Cristiano for the Class of 2021, and Holmes is set to speak for the Class of 2022. The two of them had already forged a strong connection before Roadtrip Nation brought them together on film.

Holmes, who got his start taking classes at Rio Salado as an incarcerated student, has come a long way since then. A father and husband now with a string of academic recognitions to his name, Holmes first connected with Cristiano through PTK while Bryce was living and learning abroad in China. To paraphrase Casablanca: it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"One hundred percent the main reason why I got involved in Roadtrip Nation in the first place was because of Cordero," Cristiano said. "I met him through PTK and Rio Salado. So even though I was studying in China we became very good friends. He's like a brother to me."

The feeling is mutual for Holmes. 

"The friendship that we created while he was in China, I'm in Arizona, and both of us come from two different backgrounds: it was special," Holmes said. "It just shows that you never know who you're gonna run into and that you should never hesitate to reach out to another individual who may not look like you. I didn't have friends like him and now we're the best of friends."

That sentiment of fellowship transcending cultural differences is the message Cristiano hopes comes through the loudest in their filmed interviews.

“It was really exciting to have that opportunity to sit down with him and explain to an audience how, even though we come from totally different backgrounds and life experiences, we were still able to make a strong connection through our academic experiences at Rio Salado.”

Reflecting back on his RTN experiences Holmes praises higher education for how it can expand a person’s options and potential.

"I come from an environment that's kind of sketchy," Holmes said. "When you're in a state of survival, morality kind of goes out the window. So I've seen friends turn on friends. I've seen family members turn on each other. Coming from that environment and being in this new space in college, it's like I came out of that survival mode when I knew that there were options now … Just being able to share with him some of the things that I was doing and for him to tell me, 'I see you, I see all the things that you're doing and I get inspiration from you,' that showed me that people see something in me.”

Both Cristiano and Holmes are continuing to pursue their long-term goals: Cristiano is learning the ropes on film production while Holmes gears up to further his educational journey into counseling.