Fortunately, Ruiz was eventually able to enroll at Bakersfield College after talking to “millions of people” – a hyperbole, sure, but one that illustrates the frustration of looking for answers when there aren’t really any to be found. Without the Dream Act, she had to pay out-of-state tuition for the first semester but had a scholarship to help.
By her next semester, Ruiz was able to take advantage of DACA and the California Dream Act, allowing her to attend college and pay as a resident. With that settled, she could begin to think a little further into the future and weighed what she wanted to do. She first thought about becoming a nurse, following the path her mother had first set out on back home in Mexico, but realized it wasn’t what she enjoyed.
A prerequisite human anatomy class with Professor Chad Newton at BC changed her life.
“It was a really hard class,” she said, “but that’s where I fell in love with biology.”
After earning her associate degree in human biology, Ruiz started the process of transferring to CSUB. She didn’t know how far she would be able to go as a Dreamer but took everything one step at a time. One of her first classes as a CSUB student was with Dr. Kathleen Szick on cell biology.
“I was freaking out,” Ruiz remembered. “I was, like, ‘Oh my God. This class is even harder than the ones I took at BC.’ But I pushed myself and told myself that everything was going to be OK. From there, I took all the different biology courses. All the biology faculty and staff made a huge impact on me.”
Dr. Szick taught Ruiz in several courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She remembers her as a student unafraid to ask questions and willing to put in the work to succeed.
“What I was most impressed with was her steady improvement over time,” Dr. Szick said. “She was able to modify her ways of learning and was able to adapt to each class as they continued to challenge her. She was always engaged, and it was clear that she was eager to learn.”
Ruiz’s time at CSUB furthered her love for biology, but it was transformative in another way too: it’s where she learned to embrace herself for who she is after struggling with her status in high school.
“I think my self-esteem improved when I started being open about it and when I actually wanted to make a difference in other people’s lives, and that was sometime when I was at CSUB,” Ruiz said. “I don’t know when, but one day I just started talking about it.”
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2017, Ruiz worked for the Kern County Department of Child Support Services. It was a good job and paid well, but her love of biology never went away. Eventually, with encouragement from Dr. Brandon Pratt in the CSUB biology department, Ruiz decided to take the leap and apply.
“I'm living pretty good right now with money, but I'm not happy,” Ruiz recalled of that time in her life and considering her options. “I made my decision. It probably took like 10 seconds. I was like, ‘No, I'm going to graduate school and I'm going to pursue what I love.’”
Dr. Pratt was glad Ruiz decided to continue her education with the master’s program, calling her a deeply curious student with a positive outlook.
“Nahliel has had to overcome many challenges to attain her biology degrees,” Dr. Pratt said. “It is a testament to her talent and extra hard work that she has been able to achieve so much academically and now professionally in a short time period. She embodies so much of what the CSUB faculty are trying to accomplish for our students, and she has earned and deserves all of her success.”
Because Ruiz earned her master’s degree through the non-thesis track, she wasn’t required to do research, but she still wanted hands-on lab experience and needed a few extra units. She became a research assistant in Dr. Szick’s laboratory, where her professor was struck by her work ethic.
“I was completely blown away with her drive and dedication,” Dr. Szick said. “Often, when students need additional units and ask to participate in research to get those units, they are just doing it ‘because they have to,’ and that was not the case with Nahliel at all. She not only put in the amount of ‘required’ time but went above and beyond; she was eager and anxious to learn and did an amazing job.”