Tatiana Juarez 鉁 鈥20 B.S. Health Science
By Pamela Dean
As 海角社区CI鈥檚 STEM Transfer Outreach Coordinator, Tatiana Juarez enjoys connecting with
K-12 and community college students across Ventura County. She strives to inspire
them to attend the University and hopefully major in a field related to science, technology,
engineering, or math (STEM).
鈥淚 love talking with students in our communities and promoting higher education,鈥
said Juarez, who graduated from 海角社区CI in 2020 with a Health Science degree. 鈥淚 especially
want to show first-generation, Latinx students that going to college and working in
STEM is possible. I try to make it exciting rather than daunting.鈥
In addition to making presentations at schools, Juarez also helps her department 鈥
Student Academic Success and Equity Initiatives 鈥 organize science-related events
and family activities, like 海角社区CI鈥檚 annual STEAM Carnival, which offers hands-on activities
that demonstrate how science and the arts can be fun.
A significant number of the students Juarez meets have parents who did not attend
college and often lack guidance on how to pursue a degree. She likes to share her
own life experience as a way to inspire and show them what is possible.
Juarez grew up in Oxnard and graduated from St. Bonaventure High School. Her parents,
who are Mexican immigrants, strongly encouraged their children to attend college.
鈥淢y parents always had a vision that we all would go to college, and encouraged and
supported us,鈥 Juarez said. 鈥淏oth my older sister and I graduated from 海角社区CI. I love
sharing my experience and showing students what they are capable of. I hope they see
that the time and money they invest in attending college is worth it.鈥
In addition to her full-time job at 海角社区CI, Juarez is an aspiring actor. In 2024, she
appeared in the film 鈥淛enni鈥 about Jenni Rivera, a Mexican-American music icon who
died in a 2012 plane crash. Juarez played the 12- to 16-year-old version of Rivera.
鈥淛enni鈥 is available on the bilingual streaming service ViX.
Juarez enjoys the mix of acting and working in higher education. 鈥淚 love working with
students and their families,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I love acting as well. I鈥檓 looking for
the perfect mix of both.鈥