For graduate, ‘it’s never too late’ to pursue dream

It was always Maria Vargas' dream to go to college. As she reached her senior year of high school, she was taking advanced classes and had the goal of one day becoming a teacher herself.

Then life happened. Vargas became pregnant at age 17 and her plans were put on hold.

"It was really tough. I felt kind of lost for a little bit," she said.

Vargas decided to focus her time and energy on raising her daughter, Lizette, with her now-husband, Erasmo Leon. After a few years, she thought about giving college a shot, but after she became pregnant with their second child, Vargas gave up on the idea.

"I figured it was too late to go back," she said. "I felt like I didn't have that motivation to go back to school. I just lost hope."

It wasn't until 2020, when Lizette was 11 years old and already starting to talk about college herself, that Vargas began to reconsider.

"She's so mature for her age. She wants to be an engineer and work at NASA someday," she said. "I always have encouraged her to go for her dreams. I wanted to serve as inspiration for her, so I decided to take my own advice and go back to school."

Vargas was pregnant at the time with her third child, but she decided to go for it anyway. She graduated from Bakersfield College in 2022 with her associate degree in Spanish before transferring to California State University, Bakersfield that fall.

Now she is about to graduate this week with her bachelor's in Spanish and has plans to pursue her master's after taking a break.

"It's exciting, but I'm a little nervous for the next chapter," she said. "I've enjoyed being here, but I'm glad to be finally finishing. It just goes to show that it's never too late."

Leon said he and the rest of the family are proud of what Vargas has accomplished.

"I'm really happy for her. She's been killing it," he said. "To see how much dedication she's been putting into her schooling, it's insane. She has a lot to be proud of. She's at the finish line."

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