As the academic year begins, some of the seniors who are graduating in the spring are starting to look back on their lives and are reflecting on how they’ve grown and changed. Here at Cal Lutheran we have amazing students, and one of those students is senior Mariana Fonseca. She’s a truly marvelous person, from her dedication to the SOAR program (a summer bridge program we have on campus through the Student Support Services office) to her dedication to the people she’s worked with on and off of campus. Mariana has more than enough knowledge on compassion, resilience, and heart.
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What is your major?
Mariana Fonseca: I am a sociology and psychology double major.
HCCLU: Did you always want to be a double major?
MF: No I didn’t. First of all, I didn’t even think I would be coming to a four year university. If it wasn’t for the AVID program at my high school, I probably wouldn’t be here. I started out majoring in biology simply because I liked the subject. I eventually realized that while I do like biology, it isn’t one of my passions.
HCCLU: Why did a four year university not seem like an option for you?
MF: I’m a first generation college student and a daughter of immigrants. I myself am an immigrant, as I was born in Mexico. My family came to the U.S. wanting a better life, and I believe that obtaining a good education is part of having a better life. My older siblings chose to go to community college before transferring to a four year university. I knew that I wanted to go to college since I really value education, but my parents never knew about the process of applying to a four year university. So initially, I thought I would just end up going to a community college to make it easier for them.
HCCLU: Did you apply to other schools? Was Cal Lutheran your first choice?
MF: I applied to a total of 9 schools- four UCs, four Cal States, and one private university, which was Cal Lutheran. I got a free application from Cal Lutheran and I had visited it before, but my dream school was UC Davis. I was actually accepted into UC Davis but after participating in the inCLUsive program here at CLU and the overnight stay, I felt at home and decided to come here.
HCCLU: Was that feeling of “home” consistent throughout your years here at Cal Lutheran?
MF: I think that it has essentially been the same, but my idea of home has changed a little bit. Before, it felt like home in the sense that I felt comfortable walking around campus. I didn’t really have any connection to the campus itself yet. But throughout the four years, I’ve developed connections with people who are very important and mean a lot to me now. The meaning of home transformed in that way… the people I connected with have made me feel like I’m connected to this campus and like I can say this is my home.
HCCLU: Are you part of any of the organizations on campus?
MF: I am mainly part of Student Support Services. I started as a SOAR participant- SOAR is a summer bridge program for incoming first years and transfer students. As an incoming first year, I met really cool people and also had amazing academic counselors. Since then, I’ve always felt like I’ve had a family within Student Support Services, and I’ve tried to stay as active as possible in the office.
HCCLU: You’re a senior! Are you excited to graduate?
MF: Yes I am very excited! It’s bittersweet, as I feel like my time at Cal Lutheran has flown by. I’m happy to have reached the goals that I’ve wanted to achieve. It’s not over yet though, and I’m currently a Resident Assistant in Trinity Hall which is a lot of fun. I feel like I’ve challenged myself, pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and have had a great four years here. I am excited to be graduating, but I’m also a little nervous. Ideally, I would love to go to graduate school, but I don’t have the money saved up yet and I also don’t know exactly which program I would like to go into. I’m going to look for a job within the psychology or sociology fields and gain more experience to give myself a bit more time.
HCCLU: Have you had any jobs off campus?
MF: I started working at the age of 18 when I first got to Cal Lutheran. I was a commuter, so it was sometimes hard to balance school and life outside of school. First I worked in Career Services for a semester, and then I worked at Chipotle for a year. After that it was like a rollercoaster. After Chipotle, I was a front desk worker at a retirement home. A few months later, I became a caregiver for the elderly, which was a really, really cool job because older people are my favorite, I don’t know why. It’s an innate, compassionate feeling I have for them, so I genuinely enjoyed working with them. After working as a caregiver, I had a few internships, mainly dealing with high school students, usually first generation as well. Then I became a behavioral therapist for children with autism, and that was very eye-opening. I had never worked with children at that point in my life, so I gained a lot of insight. After becoming a behavioral therapist, I became a hostess at Mimi’s Café as well as a server at another retirement home here in Thousand Oaks.
HCCLU: You have obviously had several jobs, you’re a full-time student, you have other commitments outside of school and work, and you’re a commuter, yet you managed to find balance. Do you have any advice for how you managed to balance your responsibilities and time?
MF: My biggest piece of advice is to know your support system. I’m thankful that I have a family who is very supportive and that I was able to build a good support system here at Cal Lutheran. The academic counselors, faculty, and staff have guided me through the hard decisions I’ve had to make. Don’t be afraid to do what your heart wants to do. If you do everything with heart, things will work out. But be aware of the amount of responsibilities you’re taking on, because taking care of yourself needs to be a priority. I have personally struggled and fallen back a little bit, but thanks to my support system I felt like I had back-up.
HCCLU: You mentioned that your family, including yourself, are immigrants. Do you have any words of comfort for those who are experiencing panic about the current political climate, specifically with the recent DACA decision?
MF: DACA does not directly apply to me, but I have several close friends that are affected and all I can say is that I know no one understands your experience because you yourself are living it. We can only try to understand. But I ask you, please, not to close yourself off from any support that’s being offered to you and to stay hopeful, because there is going to be a way. As immigrants, we are very hard workers, as we came here to the U.S. for a better life, and we’re doing everything we can to achieve that. Trust that something good will come out of this. You will grow anywhere you are planted because you are resilient.
HCCLU: What is one word you would use to describe myself?
MF: I like to think that I’m resilient because my life has been characterized by many sacrifices. My family and I came here and left everything we had in Mexico in order to have a better life. My parents taught me early on in my life that you have to work hard to get what you want. Just trying to better yourself and making those daily sacrifices will help you realize how resilient you are because you face obstacles that you don’t think you can overcome. Once you do, you’ve reminded yourself once more that you are resilient.
HCCLU: Do you have a favorite memory here at Cal Lutheran?
MF: I’ve gotten so close to the SSS office, and I’ve been a student leader for the past three years. Every year when the SOAR students start their academic year and I see them around campus, it just makes my day. I’m helping similar individuals with similar backgrounds as me achieve a dream that we all have in common, and it’s one of my favorite memories from here at CLU.
HCCLU: Do you have any other words of wisdom?
MF: I would ask people to keep an open mind because you don’t want to deprive yourself of any opportunities that could be presented to you. You develop different likes and interests throughout your time here, so don’t close yourself off to new opportunities. Let your heart guide you! I know there’s a lot of uncertainty in our lives and we don’t always know what’s going to happen, but keep in mind that you know who you are. Keep working towards who you want to be and if you have heart, everything will work out. Try your best and everything will be okay.
All photos courtesy of Mariana Fonseca