Professor Benjamin Nelson is one of the most recent additions to the history department at College of the Sequoias. As a lifelong enjoyer of academia, he attended several institutions while on the journey to becoming a college professor. The first of these was Porterville College, where he majored in agriculture before becoming interested and majoring in social science. While attending the college, Professor Nelson was inspired by the faculty, stating, “I had some pretty inspirational teachers there, professors who kind of – they didn’t push me, but guided me towards the social sciences and history in particular, originally as a substitute teacher, before gaining an Emergency Credential.

After attending Porterville College, Professor Nelson transferred to the California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Calpoly). During this time, Professor Nelson was increasingly motivated to continue his work towards history, crediting the professors of Calpoly for their outstanding history program and inspirational nature.

After completing his courses, Professor Nelson would return home to teach in the Porterville Unified School District for approximately two years, originally as a substitute teacher before gaining an emergency credential. Professor Nelson would later apply to graduate school and, despite initially being turned down by many universities, was accepted into by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). As a result, he would attend the university intermittently for roughly ten years, earning his PhD in the 2016.

Professor Nelson and his family would then move back to the Central Valley, specifically to the city of Visalia. He continued working in education, eventually joining College of the Sequoias as an adjunct professor in 2023, and a full-time professor in 2024.