{"id":188372,"date":"2023-12-11T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T18:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=188372"},"modified":"2024-03-14T15:57:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T01:57:05","slug":"manoa-grad-dora-figueroa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/11\/manoa-grad-dora-figueroa\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking barriers: Marine biology grad forges path of success at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"dora
Dora Figueroa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a journey defying expectations, Dora Figueroa, a Hispanic student from Brownsville, Texas, set her sights on marine biology at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa. Breaking away from the conventional career paths in her community, Figueroa’s passion for science led her to pursue a degree that many around her didn’t anticipate.<\/p>\n

“Where I\u2019m from, not a lot of Hispanic students like me take interest in science, it\u2019s usually business or communications,” said Figueroa. “I remember myself and one other student getting excited for science fairs, but everyone else just saw them as assignments.”<\/p>\n

Figueroa knew that if she wanted to pursue marine biology, she needed to maximize her learning opportunities, leading her to 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa—a campus that would allow her to research aquatic life and ecosystems unlike those back home.<\/p>\n

“I would never see reefs like this where I\u2019m from, so I hope to implement what I learned at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in grad school when I return to Texas,” Figueroa said. “And with the skills I\u2019ve gained, I also hope to intern and be an education specialist at Sea Turtle, Inc.<\/abbr>, a sea turtle rehabilitation center I used to volunteer at when I was in high school.”<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re a first-generation college student from an immigrant family, there is no blueprint on how to be a college student—you ARE the blueprint.
—Dora Figueroa<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She will earn a bachelor of science in marine biology, with a minor in political science, and will be among the participants at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s fall 2023 commencement<\/a> on Saturday, December 16, 9 a.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.<\/p>\n

Making the most of her opportunities<\/h2>\n

Figueroa comes from an immigrant family—her parents came to the United States from Mexico with the hopes and intentions of giving their children (Dora and her sister) the life and opportunities they didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

“My parents are hard workers, and because I saw the hard work and dedication they have, and the sacrifices they made to give me a better life, I was motivated to make the most of the opportunities and resources available to me,” said Figueroa.<\/p>\n

She participated in a summer marine biology program at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa prior to her first semester in fall 2020 that allowed her to advance in her major sooner. She also gained support and resources from TRIO M\u0101noa<\/a>, and earned numerous scholarships—including one from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund<\/a> that will open doors for her to careers and internships after graduation.<\/p>\n

A student supporting students<\/h2>\n

When she first arrived at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, she said it was difficult for her to do things on her own, especially considering that she\u2019s a first-generation college student. She did her research and also gained all the information she could about the campus by meeting with others from various departments. Because of this experience, she was inspired to help other students as an academic advisor, and provide them the support they need for their own journeys.<\/p>\n

“When you\u2019re a first-generation college student from an immigrant family, there is no blueprint on how to be a college student—you ARE the blueprint. You can make any choice, decision, anything you want, and you can\u2019t let any roadblock stop you from achieving that,” said Figueroa.<\/p>\n

She added, “This is part of what I tell the students I advise all the time, and I think it\u2019s great advice for any student pursuing higher education—it\u2019s okay to not know what you want to do, it\u2019s okay to keep exploring majors to find what you best excel at, as long as you keep going and keep making progress.”<\/p>\n

\"group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First-generation college student Dora Figueroa will implement what she learned at 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> M\u0101noa at institutions in her home state of Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[234,1466,175,1453,9,1626],"class_list":["post-188372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-commencement","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-marine-biology","tag-trio-student-success-services","tag-uh-manoa","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188372"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188375,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188372\/revisions\/188375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}