For Victoria Mendoza Villa (she/they/ella), finding a field of study was about more than choosing a major. It was about finding a place where her interests, identity, and sense of purpose could come together.
At MiraCosta College, she found that intersection in sociology and Chicana studies.
“It's just where I found my footing,” she said. “I think it's where a lot of my personal beliefs and my academics and the things I want to achieve in academia intertwine.”
Mendoza Villa first began exploring Chicana Studies in a MiraCosta Chicana Literature course in 2023. She had already been curious about the history and experiences that were not always deeply explored in her earlier classes, but at MiraCosta, that curiosity found room to grow.
Through her coursework and participation in the Puente Program, she connected with literature, history, and other students who shared an interest in understanding how identity, culture, and community shape people’s experiences.
That learning soon moved beyond the classroom.
Mendoza Villa became involved in M.E.Ch.A, the HSI Club, the Associated Student Government, and MiraCosta’s Student Equity programs. She also works with the Puente Program, which supports first-generation Latine students, and the UPRISE Program, which supports undocumented and mixed-status students.
For her, those roles do not feel separate from what she studies. They are an extension of it.
“It doesn't feel like work to me,” she said. “I'm putting my major to practice, and I'm getting to do all the things that I love to do, and like, giving back to that community.”
That sense of community has become central to her MiraCosta experience.
“I found my community here, and I want to give back to this community 10 times over.”
Mendoza Villa has already begun doing exactly that.
Through M.E.Ch.A, she helped organize a campus baile that brought together more than 100 people. The event was a celebration, but for Mendoza Villa, its importance went beyond a single evening. She wants the programs, events, and spaces students create today to continue serving students long after the people who started them have moved on.
“I don't want to be someone who does one great thing while at MiraCosta, and then it never happens ever again,” she said.
Her goal is to leave behind a foundation that others can continue building upon.
“I want to be someone who was able to, like, bring together so many kinds of people, and who was also able to, like, leave behind the foundation to keep doing these things over and over for as long as we can.”
That same purpose is shaping what comes next.
Mendoza Villa hopes to transfer to a university such as UC Berkeley, USC, or the University of Chicago and continue studying sociology and Chicana Studies. Eventually, she sees herself returning to higher education, perhaps as a professor, counselor, or student equity professional.
And if the opportunity brings her back to MiraCosta someday, even better.
For Mendoza Villa, education is not simply about where a degree can take her. It is about what she can do with what she learns, and how she can use it to strengthen the communities around her.
She found her footing at MiraCosta. Now, she is helping create a foundation for those who come next.