My personal life adversities are what motivate me to pursue positive change in the lives of others.
My name is Ivan Bryan Aguilera and I was born in East Los Angeles, December of 1984 to undocumented Guatemalteco immigrants who spoke no English and had little education. Until about the age of five, I lived on the street formally known as Brooklyn Avenue (now Avenida Cesar Chavez). After reaching the age of five, my family and I moved to the Palm Springs area were my rooted childhood memories begin.
While in Palm Springs, my mother enrolled me in Cielo Vista Elementary where in the first grade I was placed in the slowest paced math and reading group. Spanish is my native language and it became a barrier to my learning in an English only school where teachers treated me as academically incapable. Being perceived as subpar is not a feeling you want at such a young age. When I came to the realization that I was being treated differently from other students, I began my mission to improve my reading ability. I began to buy books at school book fairs. Soon, I was put into the top reading group in my class and I improved in math as well. My diligence in overcoming a language barrier, with the support and encouragement of my mother, started to pay off in school.
Even though I improved academically, life at home had its difficulties. At about age eight, with the adamant support of my older sister, my family left my father and returned to Los Angeles to live in the Highland Park area.
After living in the Highland Park area for a few months with my cousin’s family; my family of five moved to Lincoln Heights where we lived in a one bedroom apartment. When we first moved in, my family and I had no beds, no furniture, no refrigerator, and no clothes accept for the clothes on our backs. I recall feeling ashamed of being poor and not having much; days of walking home a mile or two with a grocery store shopping cart filled with food. The longer I lived in Lincoln Heights the more I became conscious of my friends’ and community members’ financial and social hardships.
As I entered middle school and then later Abraham Lincoln High School, I witnessed racial tension between young Latino and Asian students. Witnessing and experiencing an arduous life with my mother and 3 siblings made me wish I could do something to improve my community. In a sense, I felt as a fish without water in my community when my older sister, who became the first in my family to graduate from a University, recommended I apply for a few Universities myself. I admired my older sister greatly and heeded her counsel. Shortly after I left for Cal State, Northridge, my mother passed away and I went through two of the most challenging years of my life. I joined Outreach and Recruitment Services at Cal State, Northridge and I was able to make a difference in the lives of students by educating them about the importance of education and resources available to them. I also became a voice for students through my work at Outreach & Recruitment Services, as Senator of Social & Behavioral Sciences, and Vice Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.
My interest in creating effective change arises not just from my own personal experience, but those of family, friends and community members of Lincoln Heights. The people within the community of Lincoln Heights, in particular, my neighbors who gave to my family when we had little and helped put the clothes on our backs, is why I am interested in becoming a successful entrepreneur and future public servant . Becoming a successful entrepreneur and public servant would serve as an opportunity for me to give back to the under privileged communities which have little, yet give so much. As for my future career and endeavors, my plans are to become an owner of a first rate establishment, to open a consulting firm (teaching others how to run successful businesses), to work as a motivational speaker, effectively engage in philanthropic work, and be involved in government to advocate for social justice.
