Veronica Sifuentes

July 9, 2024 By College of ECST
veronica

 

Veronica Sifuentes
Mechanical Engineering BS

Mentee to mentor - paying it forward, uplifting first-gen students toward success

As a first-generation college graduate, Veronica Sifuentes carries an awareness of the sacrifices her parents made for her to pursue her dreams and that her achievements are also theirs.

“My parents came into this country, and I knew that they left a lot of things behind-their dreams, their aspirations, and obviously, their families too,” said Veronica. “And for me, I think early on, I understood those sacrifices, and I knew I wanted to pay them back. Graduating isn’t just going to be for myself, it’s going to be for my parents, my family, and I finally did it!”

Veronica is the embodiment of the College of ECST’s motto: “Commit to Excellence, Engage in Community.” Her academic journey has been greatly impacted by the college’s Acceleration Initiative, which is a series of programs designed to inspire middle and high school students to attend college, consider a STEM program, and then once admitted to college, help them overcome obstacles to obtaining their STEM degrees.  

Veronica first connected with Cal State LA and the College of ECST as a high school student participating in the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program. Through the MESA program she was fortunate to be mentored by a passionate and committed advisor, one of her high school math teachers who is also a first-generation college graduate, who nominated Veronica to attend LAunchPad, an ECST summer program designed to inspire rising high school women to pursue careers in engineering and computer science. “Coming out of the two-week LAunchPad program, it all clicked. I fell in love with engineering, math and science, and I definitely knew engineering was my path.”

During her senior year of high school, Veronica decided to attend the ECST Open House where she heard a Boeing engineer speak. “As I sat with my classmates,” she recalled, “I heard him say he was an ECST alumni who accomplished all his dreams. He said the path wasn’t easy, but it was all about the student you wanted to be and what you wanted to do with your experience. Right then and there, I knew it was meant to be and decided to decline my other CSU offers and go to Cal State LA to study engineering.”

After attending the Summer Transition into ECST Program, Veronica enrolled and excelled in the First-Year Experience in ECST (FYrE) Program. “Starting off my college experience with FYrE definitely shaped me to complete my degree in four years, because that’s the main goal and target of FYrE.” She elaborated, “Having a program established for the first-year students incorporating a hand-picked schedule, dedicated advisor, and a cohort you share classes with, helps build your support network and friendships through that first year.” She later became a FYrE peer mentor to give back to the same program that helped her excel. “I’m trying to help more freshman students understand that the quicker you start to use your resources, the better you set yourself up for success.”

While a student at Cal State LA, Veronica also gave back to her community as a MESA Student Ambassador, making STEM presentations to middle and high school students and serving as a LAunchPad Peer Mentor. Veronica was also involved in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) as Vice President and Director of Public Relations. She made it a personal commitment to help her peers strengthen their professional development by promoting leadership and professional organizations like SHPE and Great Minds in STEM (GMiS). “When I’m blessed with an opportunity, I immediately think of getting more people out there, into the same opportunities. It’s about giving back; someone helped me and I’m going to help someone else.”

“GmiS will always have a special place in my heart, given the fact that they have helped me financially,” Veronica said. “To have less of a burden put on my parents and assist me with getting through college on my own; I thank GMiS for that and for providing me opportunities to network and gain mentors.” GMiS also helped her get her internship with Northrop Grumman Corporation as a systems simulation modeling engineer.

Her involvement in community activities and the opportunities available to support her success, motivated Veronica to become an advocate for other students doing the same.

“You definitely need a whole village to get through, and if you start early in building that village, you will be very successful,” she said. “I definitely recommend getting involved in anything and everything.”

Veronica’s village includes the female faculty and staff she credits with helping shape her undergraduate experience. “I saw these successful professionals dominate their respective areas–this was powerful and made me think if they could do it, so can I. I am thankful to have them as role models and mentors.”

Veronica recognizes how her background and experiences have shaped who she is today, providing her with a strong foundation and carrying her through the hard times. Even through the challenges she faced, she recognized the skill sets and opportunities from ECST and how they fortified the foundation laid by her family.

“Seeing my parents work hard every day, they weren’t able to help me academically, but they were able to instill very important characteristics of who I am today. All of my life experiences tie back to my family, and just having that push and support helped me,” she said. “Cal State LA’s College of ECST offers students strong skill sets to develop. It’s a very hands-on institution, where others are just theoretical, and you need both in industry to be successful. I definitely think any students will find their way at Cal State LA.”

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