Purpose, Persistence, and Graduate School with Fatima Rosas Huerta

In this episode of Beach Peeps, CSULB Vice President of Student Affairs Beth Lesen sits down with Fatima Rosas Huerta, a graduate student whose journey through higher education is grounded in purpose, advocacy, and resilience.

Originally from Puebla, Mexico, and raised in El Monte, Fatima shares her experience as a first-generation college student navigating higher education without a clear roadmap. From choosing UC Santa Cruz based on what felt most accessible, to discovering her passion for supporting undocumented and underrepresented students, her path has been shaped by both determination and community.

Now pursuing a master’s degree in Student Development in Higher Education at CSULB, Fatima reflects on why continuing her education was a meaningful and intentional choice, both to expand her career opportunities and to create lasting impact. Through her work at the Dream Success Center, she supports students by building community, connecting them to resources, and creating space for important conversations during uncertain times.

Fatima’s story highlights the importance of representation, mentorship, and access, and reminds students that while the path may not always be clear, it is always possible.

Her journey shows that education is something no one can take away, and that investing in yourself can open doors for both you and your community.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Degree, you do most of your classes in the evening, right? So you can work during the day and do classes in the evening. I think a lot of students don't think about graduate school. So tell me a little bit about why you decided to go for a master's directly out of undergrad and why should other students think about graduate school if they haven't considered it yet?

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Yeah, I decided to go for my master's because I do want to do some counseling. Yeah. And you need your master's. Uh for me that was important. Also, like I mentioned, because of my status, options are limited, but I still knew that I wanted to be in higher ed because no one could take away your education. And for anyone who's thinking about it, I would highly uh encourage them to attend. And if they are not sure if it's attainable to them, it's like come here, like try to talk to people, uh, go to the financial aid office, uh, see what they offer. So I would say it's not impossible, but you do have to like put a little bit of work to make sure you're committing to like what you want.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

I'm Beth Lesson, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment at Cal State Long Beach. And this is Beach Peeps, a podcast about students, stories, and the interesting things happening on campus and beyond. Hi Fatima. Hello. How are you today? Today I'm doing good and yourself? Good. I am here. Let's tell everyone who you are first. This is Fátima Rosas. Yes and Fatima, um, where are you from? We'll start there.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Where are you from? So my hometown is El Monte, California, but I was born in Puebla, Mexico. And I did my undergrad at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and I'm currently a master's student here at Cal State Long Beach.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Do you is it okay if I ask you how how old you were when you left Mexico? I was four years old, so I was pretty young. So you've been here for most of your life. Yeah, basically raised in El Monte. And right now you are in a graduate program here.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yes. What's your graduate program? It's the Student Development Higher Ed program. I love the program. Would totally recommend for anyone considering it.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

What is a student? I mean, I know what it is, but I'm assuming that some of the people who uh tune in are not gonna know what a student development and higher ed program is.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah, so the program, there's many things you can do with it. Uh there's the counseling component for anyone who's interested in uh being a counselor at a community college, but you could also be a student affairs professional. Uh, you could be a program coordinator, a program director. Uh so it entails a lot of stuff, and it kind of as a student you get to choose what you want to do and you get to explore different career paths in higher ed.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

So it's really for students who want to work in higher education. And you want to work in higher education. I do want to work in higher education. Why do you want to work in higher education? Oh, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

I want to work in higher education because I want to advocate for students who have been historically underrepresented in the institutions. I want to help them through the process. I am a first generation student, so I know how difficult it could be to understand a lot of like, um, yeah, like a lot of different things. And I kind of want to do that for students, either through an AOP program or a undocus like AB540 center uh to support students and advocate for students.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

How did you discover that you had a passion for this work? When were you, when did it occur to you that this was a field you could go into and that you really wanted to?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Yeah, in my undergrad, I was a mentor for undocumented students. And at that time And where'd you say you went again? Uh UC Santa Cruz. UC Santa Cruz, yes. So in Santa Cruz, you were a mentor. Yes. And I knew I wanted to help my community. I thought I wanted to be a therapist, but after a minute, um, I realized that path was not for me. So you realized so much earlier than I did. I actually became a therapist and then went into higher ed. You didn't waste that time. I thankfully. Um Yeah. And then my third year, I was like, you know, um, I was talking to my director and she's like, this could be a career. And I was like, that would be amazing. I love what I do. It doesn't feel like a job. I meet with students, I talk to them, I help them. And that's kind of when I realized I wanted to go into higher I wanted to stay in higher ed and continue to help students. Who was this director? Give her, is it her? Yes. Give her a shout-out. Who was Anaceli Acevez? Acevos. Acebos. Acevos, yes. Um at Santa Cruz. At Santa Cruz.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

And she was the one who helped you recognize that this is what you wanted to do with your life.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah, she had a series called Undock Your Resilience. And my first year, I was a part of it as a student. And then my third year, I was helping uh guiding guide students through the sessions. Yeah. And that also was also very empowering where I was like, I could um give back to the community uh what I once had. It felt good. Yeah. You were enjoying yourself and it felt good and you were good at it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Yeah. I would say so. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, enough that our that Arasali said you should think about doing this with your life. So you you really figured out what you wanted to do with the rest of your life by having an on-campus job as an undergrad. Yes. It was a fellowship. It was a great, it was a great fit for you. You you mentioned that you were that you're a first generation college student. Tell me a little bit about what that I am too, by the way. Um, but tell me a little bit about like what got you interested in going to college. What was that journey like for you? Like how did you find UC Santa Cruz? What was going to Santa Cruz? What was it like when you first got there? Like what what was what's that journey been like for you?

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Yeah, so when I was in high school, uh, because of my status, I felt like my paths were very limited. Uh, but thankfully, like one of my cousins had gone to college. So I really looked up to her and I was like, you know, she went to, she's going to college, she went to UC Davis, and I was like, I could do that. So for me, seeing someone who was um in higher ed was very motivational. And then I decided um that college was for me. So also like at a very early age, I was like, okay, like I need to do my homework, I need to have a good grade so I could go to college, and that was always my mentality. Uh and my mind.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

She was a good role model for you. She was very good. And that was a good motivator for you to be successful in earlier grades. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Yeah. So when the time came, I applied to college, but then the pandemic hit and I was a senior. So I'm class of 2020. Oh yeah. So it was kind of hard to make a decision. Sorry, you didn't have a problem. No, it's okay. I got over it after so many years. That's that's good. Yeah. But when it came time to it, it was difficult because I didn't know if like what was gonna happen with the pandemic, how long were we gonna be um with the pandemic? So I did consider community college, but I also felt like I worked really hard in high school where I was like, there's nothing wrong with community college. Like I love community college, but I thought, like, no, I want to do this. So I kind of was like, you know what, I'm gonna commit to UC Santa Cruz. And I decided on UC Santa Cruz, uh, just because I didn't understand how financial aid worked. So I got different letters and a lot of them were confusing, and I felt like theirs was pretty straightforward. So I was like, you know what, like this is what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

So um well, especially now that you're studying to go into higher education for a career, reflecting back on how that decision was made for you because you picked the school that you understood the best. Yes. Like the school that made it the easiest for you to understand was the school that you said, that's my school. Isn't that remarkable? Yeah. I picked my college because I had a friend who went there.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

I was first generation, I didn't know where to go. And one of my really close friends went to SUNY Buffalo, and I was like, that seems good. And so I went because it's the same idea though. Like it's not really when you're first generation, you don't necessarily always do a thorough evaluation of the school. It can just be that it feels accessible. Yes. And in that case, that's the one that felt most accessible to you because it's the one that made the most sense.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Yeah, I didn't even know there was like resource standards, like oh, you could go talk to the financial aid people. Like, um, no one really talked about it. You were just like, I get I understand this letter, and that's where I'm going.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

The same way I was like, I have a friend there, so that's where I'm going. It's just like we can figure it out. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Isn't that amazing? It's very interesting. Because those are big choices, right? But that's really how people think about these things. That's real. Yeah, like one little thing. It's not that complicated. Yeah. Sometimes it's not that complicated. So when you went to, when you got to UC Santa Cruz, how did it feel for you when you first started school?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Uh so it was like an interesting experience. I was part of in high school, I was part of Avid. And so they always told us, like, make sure you go to advance, make sure you meet with advisors. So that's what I was doing. I was scheduling meetings with the um counselors at EOP. You did right from the very beginning. I was like, we're gonna be best friends because I don't know what's going on. Even remotely you did it. Yeah, good for you. And I went to tutoring. Um, I struggle with my math class, that's why I'm not a stat major. I totally get that. I had to like uh really lock in and like follow the advice that I had gotten in the past to be able to succeed, I feel like.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Yeah, but you really took advantage of a lot of things that a a number of students are reluctant to try in the very beginning, especially remote. That took a lot of courage and initiative to do all of those things. Like you really had to kind of seek things out, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah, I feel like because it was remote for me was a little bit more helpful. Uh, because of the Zoom links, you're not less nervous to go in that in person. Oh, interesting. And I would just open it up on my computer and the resources were there.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So it actually in a weird way felt more accessible to you because you know, if you're shy, it's less intimidating. Yeah. Oh, interesting. So, how did that translate to when it was in person? Did you live on campus?

SPEAKER_00 10:12

I did live on campus. Uh, even my first year I was on campus, so I think that was also like helpful. Oh, you were even when it was in remote remote.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Interesting. What was that like living on campus but doing all your classes remotely? I loved it. You did?

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yes. Why did you love it? Um, I felt like I had a space for myself. I share a room because I have like a younger sister. So I knew if I was back home, we would both struggle. Like we both have class, like we need to figure it out. Versus being on campus, I was very much like this space is for me. I have privacy, I could do like my classes when I want, I could um utilize the resources without having to be like, hey, can y'all like quiet down a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

It was much more conducive to you getting things done.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

And had and that first year went well then because you used all those resources.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yes. And then the second year, um, I got roommates uh because the pandemic was over, quote unquote. Yeah. Um, so I thought that the transition was not hard because I was I had already been on campus. And when I started my second year, I was also part of it there undocumented student services. As I was a mentor, so I felt like it was better to go in, um, not just being a student, but also like now I'm gonna be helping students.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

You were already mentoring in your second year. Yes. That was so quick.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yeah, because um I was really involved my first year. I would do their Zoom meetings and stuff. So I think that was helpful for me. Um, getting involved as much as I could.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

How does your family feel about your being your college being in college?

SPEAKER_00 11:42

I think my mom is really proud that I am in college. I feel like sometimes it's hard to talk to her about the things that I'm doing. Uh, just because also for me, they're like new things. So I'm like, how do I talk about this? You know, as a first generation student. Yeah, you have to explain. Yeah. But they're very supportive. I think my sister has also considering going to college. So I'm happy that she wants to follow my steps and do the same. Is she younger than you? Yes, yeah. She's uh junior in high school right now. Okay. Are you the oldest in your family?

SPEAKER_01 12:11

No, I have two older brothers. But now your your younger sister is seeing you the way you saw your cousin, and now she's thinking that she might want to do it too. Yes. That's great. Then you decided to come and do a master's program. What made you decide to come to Cal State at Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Oh, there was a lot of different factors that went into it. Always there are great things about uh Cal State. I in my in high school, I had a teacher who she went to a UC, but then she was like, But when I went to a cal state, it was way better. Oh, I thought yeah, she's like, I was able to do like hand-on activities and like practice. And I feel like I could also see it. Like, I love the UC systems, but they are theory heavy. Yeah. Versus here, you get to like practice, go into the field, and it's different, and both are very valuable, but I think I also wanted that practice um that the Cal States gives a more applied education.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

And so when you came here and you immediately got connected with the Dream Success Center, tell me about that.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, the Dream Success Center had a orientation, and I went to it. At first, I was nervous because I'm like, I don't know if this is for like their undergrad freshmen. Um, but I knew like I wanted to be connected with them. So I still signed up and then I showed up. And um, my first semester, I continuously went to the center and tried to use the resources and like say hi to Dr. Norma and Eric. Um, and then uh we had to do hours for my program. And I asked Dr. Norma and Eric if I could do my hours there, and they said yes, and then uh it turned into a fellowship, which was amazing. And I'm doing this, that fellowship right now too.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

And what do you do for the what do what do you do there? What's your fellowship?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Yeah, so for my fellowship, I help with the programming part of it. I also help um tabling, so I do a lot of the outreach with our other students, and I also started working on a research project um to assess our learning goals. So the fellowship kind of like allows me to do many things. It doesn't necessarily have to be like one specific project.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

What do you you love working at the end? It doesn't even feel like a job. What, why? What do you love about working there?

SPEAKER_00 14:26

I think the community, like you go into the center, everyone's very welcoming. Um, the students, the staff, whenever students come in, I try to talk to them, and then we have a conversation. And and and then like last the last quarter, no, last semester, um, I started talking to more students, and then I feel like throughout the day, um throughout the weeks they would continue to come. And just building those like meaningful connections has been very helpful, but also like right now it's like very hard with everything going on, and I feel like the space uh like gives us an opportunity to talk about what's going on, which is not very common to like see, or like if you go just to class, you're not gonna be talking about when you say about what's going on, you're talking about the ice activity around the country and and some of the ice activity that's happened here in Southern California.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yes, and what what what impact has that had?

SPEAKER_00 15:19

I think students are more like s aware, or like they could be in a fight or flight mode, like you have to be constantly like being aware on like the phone, like what's going on. Yeah, is there ice activity in Long Beach? Is there ice activity where you're from? Since a lot of them commute here. So I think it has been like difficult trying to like you have to just kind of stay on high away.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

And then also like your academics that you have going on and like other things that um you have to be aware of. So you can't just be like focused on one thing. Yeah, I feel like it could be it could get stressful and more if you're keeping it in. But uh there's times where I go to the center and where it's like, okay, like let's talk about it because like this is waiting, waiting on us. Yeah, and I feel like that's very helpful.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

So students are doing a lot of processing of uh about the ice activity in the center. Yes, yeah, spend time talking to people just to kind of process and unburden themselves and feel like they're not alone in it.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yeah, and also it could be like a little distraction. You go to the center, you go and talk to friends, like yeah. So it also helps like take that weight off. Um, I I would say.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

What other resources are do you think are super valuable for students who are coming to the Dream Success Center?

SPEAKER_00 16:35

I would say for sure our legal services. Uh, those are free to any students um here at the beach. So they don't need to through Catison, right? That Cadison resources, and it's not for just undocumented students, it's like impacted by immigration policy. So uh those services have been very helpful. Like for students that come from mixed status families, uh, whose parents might be undocumented but they're not undocumented. Right. So also like so that's like a legal way that they could get access for like their parents because them and their immediate family have access to those services. So it could also be uh brothers and sisters, and then I feel like also it's very helpful for students who do like FAFSA, but then they're they don't know like if shit they should be putting in their parents' information. So they could come to our center and talk to our program coordinator and he helps them with that.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Are there some career paths that are a little bit less difficult to break into than others? Like, what do you tell students who are undocumented about future uh career planning?

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Yeah, so a lot of students uh when they think about the future, I think that's something that is always pushed is independent contracting, yeah, like being um an owner of your business, uh, which I think that's a good way to like uh let students know that they could do something with their career. But I've also heard from a lot of students where they're like, I don't want to be this, like I don't want a business, like you have to be committed to be a business, and sometimes you just kind of want to like put into practice what you're learning, and it could be difficult doing both, like trying to create a business and then um also like using like your degree. Yeah. Uh so I don't think there's necessarily like an easy like um major that you could just like work. Yeah. Um, sometimes I think having work authorization is just very challenging, not having it. Yeah. And also for like students who do have it, like with the current administration, they're getting rid of some of some of the programs are getting rid of like that work permit or some are like in limbo, like what's gonna happen with other programs. So I think right now it's just very challenging to even plan in the future, even for those who do have work authorization. You've been here for how long now on this campus? This is I'm going into my second year, so my spring quarter of my second year.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Okay, so two years. What do you love about this campus and this school?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

I love, I love the dream success center.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Yeah, yeah. That's fair. I I should have said you're not allowed to say that. Yeah. Besides the Dream Success Center, what's the best part outside of Dream Success Center? What's the best part of being a Cal a student at Cal State Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 19:16

I would say the community, um, everyone's very welcoming. Um, I think I love my program a lot. Yeah. I love my cohort. It's like 25 of us. So we get to have each class um together. And you really bonded.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Yes. You feel like you have made really close friends. Do you think that you'll keep in touch with these people? Oh, definitely. Yeah. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

So your your cohort in your program is what you really love about this campus. Who is your favorite professor so far?

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Um, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Now is a chance to give someone a shout out. I would say Dr. Logs.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Okay. Yeah, she's also the department chair of the church. Yeah, she's gonna love hearing that. Um, but I would say she's my favorite professor, she's very real, and I just love her classes, they're very engaging. Oh, that's nice.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

So, yay, Dr. Locks. Yes, we love her. Um, so how is the commute for you?

SPEAKER_00 20:14

That commute is not that bad because I intentionally set my hours on my like dream success hours at 11. So I have to leave my house like at 10 and there's no traffic. Okay. But if I have to be here early, then oh, that commute is not good. Then it's bad. So if you stagger your hours, it's okay. I can't have to be smart, like what time am I gonna be driving? I try not to be on the road at 8 a.m. or at 5 p.m. I avoid.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

And for a master's degree, you do most of your classes in the evening, right? So you can work during the day and do classes in the evening. I think a lot of students don't think about graduate school. So tell me a little bit about why you decided to go for a master's instead of directly out of undergrad. And why should other students think about graduate school if they haven't considered it yet?

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Yeah, I decided to go for my master's because I do want to do some counseling. Yeah. And you need your master's. Uh, for me, that was important. Also, like I mentioned because of my studies, the um options are limited, but I still knew that I wanted to be in higher ed because no one could take away your education. Right. Um, yeah, so I think for me, educ I really value education. And for anyone who's thinking about it, I would highly uh encourage them to attend. And if they are not sure if it's like attainable to them, it's like come here, like try to talk to people, uh, go to the financial aid office, uh, see what they offer. So I would say it's not impossible, but you do have to like put a little bit of work to make sure you're committing to like what you want.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Yeah, but it's a viable option. So especially if you're not sure, if you're not a hundred percent sure exactly what kind of job you would want to do after school, or if you have some some limited options. Continuing your education is a really smart choice, right? Like it's it's a great opportunity. You've really done a fantastic job of finding different pocket pockets of community on campus and really making very strong, meaningful connections with different folks. It's obvious that you lead with heart and connect with people in really genuine, heartfelt ways. So it's been it's been a delightful talking with you about all of all of the your about your journey and about all of the work that you're doing on our campus with other students. Thank you for joining me today. Thank you for inviting me. My pleasure.