Julie Raigoza is a first year first-generation who is majoring in education with a minor in Spanish here at Cal Lutheran.
Quick facts about Julie:
- She’s from Oxnard, California.
- She’s Mexican.
- She’s the youngest of her siblings.
- She loves music.
- She likes to meet new people.
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What is your major and how did you decide on it?
Julie Raigoza: Education. I didn’t decide on it until the end of my junior year of high school. I volunteered at my church as an assistant catechist. I volunteered for about a year and a half, so at the end, which was the end of my senior year, I knew what I wanted to do. I was originally a Sociology minor, but I was talking to my faculty advisor and he said that if we knew Spanish, as future teachers it was better to have that certification. So really, I based it off of him.
HCCLU: Are you involved in any clubs or teams?
JR: I am in the dance multicultural club.HCCLU: What’s your favorite class you’re taking this semester? Why?
JR: Philosophy of religion. I was kind of going through a phase where I wanted to explore different religions and what they had to offer. I thought it was a cool class and now that I come to having attended multiple classes, it’s really interesting to know the arguments of why God does or does not exist. You have to have a really open mind; it makes you think a lot.
HCCLU: What do you want to do in the future?
JR: I want to be a second grade teacher, but I also want to be a special needs teacher. I enjoy being around younger kids. I like how open minded they are at such a young age versus middle school, which would be a lot harder for me to connect with them. I have been around younger kids my whole life, so it would be easier to connect education with them.HCCLU: What has been the hardest part about transitioning from high school to college?
JR: I think the fact that you’re pretty much alone in certain situations because not everyone is going through the same thing as you. They may have the same major as you but they are not in the same terms like the classes you need to accomplish the major. Everyone is very different.
HCCLU: Since you’re almost done with your first year, how would you say it went?
JR: Honestly, it was really rough. It was a roller coaster; I don’t even have words to describe it.
HCCLU: Who inspires you the most in life and why?
JR: My father because he had dreams as he was growing up but he later realized that those dreams were really hard to accomplish especially because of his situation growing up in Mexico. He wanted to be a baker and that wasn’t possible. He decided to come to the United States illegally at first and work hard with an Irish baker and that baker helped him become a citizen and later on helped him bring my mom and older sister to the U.S. He had dreams of becoming a baker but he couldn’t; he still kept practicing and practicing. He is now the manager and head baker at his own restaurant. I learned that you can make something out of nothing, he inspires meHCCLU: What quote or motto do you live by?
JR: “Nothing is impossible, even the impossible is possible.” One of my teachers from elementary school said it and it just stuck with me throughout the years, and my whole educational career. I think about it a lot.
HCCLU: What song describes your life?
JR: “Moon River” – Frank Ocean. One of the lyrics says “two drifters off to see the world” and it just reminds me a lot of myself and I can relate to it. I’m young, I have chances to explore the world and I think that should be every teenager.