Since fifth grade, Gabriela Ramirez had one goal: attend a four-year university. She spent her high school years maintaining above a 4.0 GPA, taking as many college courses as possible, and pouring herself into extracurriculars. She'd earned scholarships. Her friends were heading to Berkeley, UCLA, and MIT.
Then her senior year brought family challenges that changed everything. Gabriela had to choose between leaving for a four-year university or staying home to help her family through a difficult time.
She chose her family. And in doing so, she found her way to MiraCosta College.
“It was tough at first,” shared Gabriela. “I had always envisioned my life at a four-year university. And while the transition was hard at first, I found my community through MiraCosta College PUENTE Program.”
When she first enrolled, Gabriela didn’t know a single person on campus. Her high school teachers had mentioned the PUENTE Program, an initiative that supports Mexican American/Latine students on their journey to transfer to a four-year university, and Gabriela figured why not try it out. What happened next changed everything.
From the very beginning, Gabriela met fellow students with similar backgrounds, many of whom were also first-generation students whose parents were immigrants and understood the same struggles she went through.
Recalled Gabriela, “Even something as simple as talking about our struggle meals. It made me feel like I had a community there.”
PUENTE pushed her academically too. She enrolled in honors courses, including English 201 Honors, where she worked with classmates on projects about the first-generation student experience. Her success led her to present at the Omni Honors Conference and she even traveled with her peers to visit places like Berkeley and San Francisco, experiences that would never have been possible without the PUENTE Program.
When asked about what those experiences and college meant to her, Gabriela is quick to point out her family’s pride.
Gabriela's mother grew up in Guatemala, where education for women wasn't prioritized. She never attended kindergarten, let alone college. But when she learned what a lawyer was, she harbored a quiet dream of becoming one.
That dream now lives on through Gabriela, who is majoring in political science with plans to become a district attorney.
“My mom had this dream of being a lawyer, but she never had the opportunity to go to school,” noted Gabriela. “Me going into political science and wanting to be a lawyer is kind of like me living out her dreams for her.”
The ripple effects extend throughout Gabriela's family. Her older cousins, many of whom didn't finish high school, now tell her they want to earn their GEDs and attend community college because of her example.
The inspiration doesn’t stop there though. As she prepares to graduate from MiraCosta College, Gabriela has applied to an impressive list of schools including UC Irvine, Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, Yale, and Harvard. Wherever she lands, she plans to pursue honors research, complete internships with law firms or local politicians, and eventually serve as a Marine officer before attending law school.
Scholarships have made her path possible. She's won multiple MiraCosta College scholarships, including the Patricia and Mark Rudolph Endowed Scholarship and a host of others that have helped her stay focused on her dream.
When asked what motivates her, Gabriela doesn't hesitate.
“My family came from poverty, from a country where as a woman, you don't get these opportunities,” shared Gabriela. “Why am I going to let go of what I have? I've worked so hard. There's no point in giving up when I've come all this way.”
For Gabriela, MiraCosta College wasn't a detour from her dreams. It was the foundation that made achieving them possible. For herself, her mother, and every generation to come.