Jacqueline Aviña Espinoza was selected as the top graduating student from the College of Education. (Sacramento State/Andrea Price)

By Jonathan Morales

Jacqueline Aviña Espinoza’s story is, in many respects, a familiar one: born to Mexican immigrants, with a father who worked in the fields; struggles to understand English before succeeding academically; becomes first in her family to attend a four-year university.

That history, however, is just preamble to the impressive résumé Aviña Espinoza has built during her four years at Sacramento State. She has excelled in and out of the classroom, graduating as one of the top students in her class and developing a passion for social justice and a commitment to pay it forward to the next generation.

Framed by those accomplishments, Aviña Espinoza, a Child Development major, was chosen by the College of Education to be its Dean's Award recipient, one of seven students honored as top graduates of 2020.

“During her time at Sacramento State, Ms. Aviña Espinoza has thrived academically, but has also worked hard to give back to the community,” said Alexander Sidorkin, dean of the College of Education. “She represents some of the best aspects of our diverse and dedicated undergraduate student body.”

Aviña Espinoza, who grew up in Calistoga in the Napa Valley, applied to Sacramento State essentially sight unseen. She wanted to study Nursing, and Sac State had a well-known program. When she was accepted into the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), which supports students from seasonal-worker and farmworker backgrounds, and the Educational Opportunity Program, she started to take a closer look.

“All of these things started to make me feel like I would be supported if I went there,” Aviña Espinoza said. “We went and we toured the campus, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I was able to picture being there for four years.”

Eventually, she realized the Nursing program wasn’t for her. But a lower-division course in Child Development piqued her interest, and she switched majors. The program, she said, did a good job of preparing students for a diverse array of careers, not just teaching. That was immensely appealing to Aviña Espinoza, who wanted to work in student services.

During her junior year, she was accepted into a research project studying the experience of undocumented youth in Chicago with Assistant Professor of Education Basia Ellis, who served as the project’s principal investigator and whose research focuses on immigration.

Aviña Espinoza had excelled in the two courses she had taken with Ellis, who encouraged her to apply for the research project.

“Jackie is an exceptionally dedicated student who sets high standards for her work and is committed to academic and professional excellence,” Ellis said. “She approaches ideas with engaged curiosity and people with an open heart, making her a real pleasure to collaborate with and learn from.”

In addition to her success inside the classroom, Aviña Espinoza has thrived outside of it. Among other roles, she has served as a peer advisor with CAMP, as an officer in the student club Mujeres Ayudando la Raza, and as a President’s Ambassador. Off campus, she has worked as a recreational aide with the Boys & Girls Club of Calistoga and St. Helena, and during summer 2018 interned with the South Carolina Department of Education conducting outreach to farmworker families and offering support to English learners.

Giving back to both her campus and her community came naturally, springing from her recognition of the support she had received and her desire to make sure others received the same.

“Within the Hispanic community in general, and especially in Mexico, a lot of the culture is very family oriented, and that goes beyond the nuclear or extended family. It bleeds into community,” she said. “It’s always a big thing, supporting those that you can, and if someone extends a hand to you, you turn around and extend yours to someone else.”

Aviña Espinoza has been at home in Calistoga since Sacramento State transitioned to remote learning in mid-March, and she plans to stay there after graduation for a gap year to work with underserved youths. The area has a significant farmworker population, and many of the students are first-generation, native Spanish-speakers.

In other words, students like her.

“My whole life, I at least had a plan, and then graduation came along, and I realized it’s time to live a little without a plan,” she said. “I want to spend some more time with my family and work with my community.”