Stefany grew up in Sacramento, California where she is the oldest of three and the daughter of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants. Stefany decided she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field when her brother was diagnosed with Leukemia shortly after she started community college. When she found out about the affiliation UC Davis has with the hospital and the student-run clinics, she realized she couldn’t wait to be an Aggie!

Diana is a first-year transfer, first generation student studying Communication at UC Davis. She is the first in her family to attend a four-year university. She wants to make her family proud and is grateful to her parents for all of their sacrifices. She celebrates her education as not just hers but rather the efforts made by her parents, and she dedicates her hard work to them.

Divine Otico '19 Cognitive Science

I was born in the Philippines and migrated to the U.S. when I was 11 years old to meet my parents for the first time. At 16 years old, my parents divorced. After the divorce, my dad lost his job and we lost our home too. By 18 I was homeless, so my best friend’s family took me in. I lived with friends or other relatives until my dad got back on his feet again.

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As a first-generation college student and American, Niloufar was ready to face the obstacles ahead of her. Transferring into UC Davis was a challenge, but she felt welcomed and was able to get the support she needed to succeed.

Dave Ivan Cruz '19 International Relations

Tell us about your first generation background. Where did you grow up and what is your family history? What is unique about your story?  

Jose Macias student majors in Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations. He's used his job experience to help him succeed at school, and found a support group with the Chicanx and Latinx community.

Lorenzo Zúñiga 

Undergraduate Advisor, Languages and Literatures

This is what makes me Lorenzo Zúñiga 

I am an immigrant who is the son of immigrants. My mother and father grew up in Ceballos, Durango, Mexico. My parents only had the opportunity to study until the third grade;  they were told that they were too old for school and had to work to help out their family.

Izaac Ornelas Managerial Economics '19

I grew up in San Juan Bautista, CA with four brothers including my twin, two parents, and several other family members and friends. Both sides of my family emigrated from Mexico before my parents were born, and most of my family does some kind of work with landscape or construction. My parents were very young when they started our family, which meant they weren’t able to go to college. They were always working hard, so my brothers and I spent a lot of time growing up with our grandparents.

Maribel Anguiano '19 Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior

I come from a big, beautiful Mexican family full of resilience and determination. My mother and her family immigrated to the United States when she was seven years old,  while my father crossed the border by himself when he was just thirteen. My parents experienced a completely different childhood than my siblings and I ever will. Because education was not valued in their households and there was no support from their schools, my parents did not continue their education past high school.