By Jennifer K. Morita

June 15, 2023

Talisa Vigil is first to admit her higher-education path has been circuitous.

Born in Stockton, she eventually found her way to Sacramento State – by way of Colorado.

Now part of the Hornet Family, Vigil, who originally wanted to pursue a collegiate softball career, says this time she hit it out of the ballpark.

Vigil, 20, began her college journey more than 1,000 miles from home at Adams State University in the small southern Colorado town of Alamosa, population just under 10,000. Adams State had recruited Vigil to play softball when she was a junior at Lincoln High School.

Like many 18-year-old, first-year college students, however, Vigil struggled with being so far from home. She eventually returned to Stockton and enrolled in San Joaquin Delta College, where she earned an associate degree before transferring to Sac State as a Psychology major in the fall of 2022.

"I don't regret anything," Vigil said. "I love the chaotic process I took coming to this point.

"Out of all three of the colleges I attended, this campus, environment, and people made this school feel the most like home."

"I love how green it is here. Everyone is really welcoming. I knew I could be at home here. Everything felt right. For the first time, I knew I was in the correct spot for myself, for my career and for my family." -- Talisa Vigil

When she returned home from Colorado, she also made the tough decision to quit playing softball. She had played the sport since she was 5, coached by her father, a correctional officer at Folsom State Prison and former minor league baseball player.

"Everything I learned about the sport came from my dad," Vigil said. "Deciding to no longer play at the collegiate level was genuinely a big deal for me. It was during COVID, and a lot of girls were quitting."

Back home, Vigil became a junior varsity coach at St. Mary's High School in Stockton, where her father coached the varsity team. She coached alongside him when that team made the playoffs.

"It was really cool to coach with him," Vigil said. "Just because I stopped playing doesn't mean softball left me. I just wanted to give back in a different way."

When it came time to pick a four-year university, Vigil toured Sac State with her parents and knew she'd found her new home.

"I love how green it is here," said Vigil, an active member of Psi Chi, the international psychology honor society. "Everyone is really welcoming. I knew I could be at home here. Everything felt right.

"For the first time, I knew I was in the correct spot for myself, for my career and for my family."

Transferring as a junior was a smooth process, and Sac State offered plenty of resources to help, she said.

After she graduates, Vigil said she wants to stay at Sac State to get a master's degree in Behavioral Analysis.