Jannet Aguilar was the first in her family to graduate high school and has now turned her sights on a four-year degree thanks to the Biotech Pathways Scholarship.
Originally from Los Angeles, Jannet moved to San Diego after marrying her high-school sweetheart, who was stationed at the Naval Base.
“I fell in love with San Diego,” Jannet said. “I’m like, ‘I’m not going back to LA,’ but I still miss it sometimes.”
Though she’s no longer in her hometown, Jannet remains close to her family, who were strong supporters of her education.
“[Originally] I had no career path,” she explained. “My family … none of them have a high school diploma, so they said ‘you need to go to school,’ but they never really pressured me into [college]. They said ‘at least complete some high school, and then choose what you want.’”
What Jannet wanted included moving to San Diego to be with her husband, who encouraged her to continue going to school while he’s stationed.
“My husband was like, ‘Look, you could not go to work, [or] you could just go to school and then work if you want to.’ And that’s what I ended up doing, and how I ended up [at Miramar Community College]. And then I was like, okay, I’m gonna just apply to any university that accepts me. I didn’t have any intentions, but then my counselor said, ‘well, if you don’t have a preference in the university, look into Point Loma.’ And then she sent me the link, and then I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this campus is really pretty.’ I drove there on my own, and I was kind of cruising around, and I thought ‘I’m gonna do it.’ I guess it ended up being my dream school in the end.”
Jannet’s love for natural medicine and herbal remedies led her to consider a path of study in ‘plant science,’ when her advisors at Miramar recommended following a more established path.
“There’s a lot of chemistry in herbal medicine and plant science,” she said, “and I was really good at chemistry in high school. I did the research, and decided I’m going to do medicinal chemistry, which is related to plant science, and then I slowly migrated my way to medicinal chemistry. I don’t know what I was thinking — high school chemistry is not the same as college chemistry. But I really do love it … it’s just complicated, and as someone who’s always struggled with harder materials — it’s a really big challenge for me. But I stuck it through and I’m still doing it.”
As a first-generation college student, Jannet has had to navigate a lot of higher education on her own.
“It’s hard because no one’s telling you what to do,” she explained. “I had to find Miramar [on my own]. If it weren’t for the community at Miramar, I feel like I wouldn’t even be having this conversation. They were very consistent with me, and very patient. They had so many resources, and everyone was so kind — I was grateful that they were there for me, you know, especially with the background that I have. I had to retake math so many times.
Her counselors and her mentor told her that she was selling herself short, and she continued to work hard and develop her skills. Despite the difficulties, her family remains supportive as she pursues her STEM studies at PLNU.
“They honestly think I’m a doctor at this point,” she laughed. “Because they’re like, ‘Oh, Jannet, you’re studying chemistry,’ and they compare me to chemistry characters on TV shows and stuff, and I say, ‘No, that’s not the same,’ but they’re really proud of me, you know?”
“Before I even got the scholarship, they were already telling everybody ‘she got a scholarship!’ They’re just really happy. My sister literally graduated last month, but as an art major in Northern California. We’re polar opposites in terms of careers that we chose … being the first ones to finish high school and get a college degree is a big milestone in my family, because in LA in the 90s, a lot of them dropped out of high school. My whole family doesn’t even have a high school diploma. So it’s a big thing in my family.”
Jannet will start at PLNU in the fall. In particular, she is looking forward to working in the labs over the summer.
“I was like, ‘sign me up!’ I’m really excited for the other levels of chemistry besides organic chemistry. No shade to organic chemistry, but it’s really hard, and I want to see what other parts of chemistry I haven’t really learned yet.”
While Jannet is a bit nervous about starting at PLNU, she’s grateful for her family’s support, particularly from her husband.
“I realized the whole purpose of having a partnership is that you guys get to rely on each other,” she said. “So instead of closing myself off when I was struggling so much, [I opened up]. He is reassuring. He’s like, ‘if you have to stay in school longer, that’s okay.’ My community has really helped me, especially with my insecurity about my academic progress.”
“I realized the whole purpose of having a partnership is that you guys get to rely on each other,” she said. “So instead of closing myself off when I was struggling so much, [I opened up]. He is reassuring. He’s like, ‘if you have to stay in school longer, that’s okay.’ My community has really helped me, especially with my insecurity about my academic progress.”
