First to College: Jacqueline’s Story

Jacqueline Aviña Espinoza, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico, grew up in Napa Valley, where her father worked in the vineyards.

The family lived at La Pradera, a BRIDGE property in Calistoga.

After struggling as a child to speak English, Jacqueline eventually began to thrive academically and became the first in her family to attend a four-year college. At California State University Sacramento, she excelled in the classroom while developing a passion for helping other students like her succeed. She served as a peer advisor with the College Assistance Migrant Program, as an officer in the student club Mujeres Ayudando la Raza, and as a President’s Ambassador. She also participated in a research project studying data gathered from interviews with undocumented youth from Chicago.

“I managed to get to college and I was succeeding academically, but I wanted to make sure that other people had that opportunity too,” she says. “I realized if people hadn’t helped me as mentors, or through programs like Upward Bound and CAMP, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities.”

In 2020, Jacqueline was proud to graduate magna cum laude with a BA in Child Development.

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