I was born and raised in Mexico, two or three hours away from Mexico City, close to the archeological site El Tajín, which is where the name of the popular spice Tajín comes from. I went to the same school with the same people from kindergarten to middle school, and our class had only 30 people. Living in the same neighborhood, we all knew each other very well. I was, compared to many others, privileged in many ways — I had scholarships at a private school, and I started learning English when I was a baby.

When I was younger, my mom would call me “Dai,” which sounds like “dye” and is short for my full name, Daira, but Mom always spelled it “day.” When I saw her spelling, I decided I liked the sound of “day” and adopted that as my new nickname.

My school regularly sent kids to Canada during the summers to learn English. For my quinceañera, I didn’t want to have a party. Instead, I used my quinceañera present to travel to Canada with my friends. I already had a solid grasp of English, though, so I selected to take math and science classes while my friends took English classes. We conducted all sorts of experiments and did hands-on learning activities. My experience there fueled my interest in science. Additionally, through regular travel with my family for my dad’s job, I fell in love with big cities and became fascinated by highways. I thought, “Maybe I’ll design a building someday, or a bridge.”

I realized that I didn’t want to stay in Mexico for college. I felt like I could tap into my full potential if I were to go somewhere I’d never lived before. We had a family friend living in Spanish Fork, Utah, so we reached out to them. They agreed to allow me to move in with them for high school. I didn’t know anything about Utah, but I decided to move there all by myself with the resolve to visit my family in Mexico as much as possible.

I attended Provo High School. My host brother was studying at Utah Valley University (UVU) and would drop me off at high school on his own way to school. Utah is so different from Mexico and the other places in the U.S. that I’ve traveled. I didn’t know anything about the culture or the dominant religion here and getting used to that was a challenge. We wore uniforms at school in Mexico, so seeing people in their pajamas at high school was a surprise. Also, in Mexico, we kiss people’s cheeks when we say goodbye to them. I thought that was a universal thing. After school one day, I was practicing tennis with some other girls on the team, and when my host mom came to pick me up, I instinctively tried to kiss them on the cheek. They reacted like I’d just done the weirdest thing ever, which caught me off guard.

Despite the culture shock at times, I love the person that I’m becoming here in Utah. I am more open-minded now, and open to recognizing the different ways people think depending on their experiences.

Near the end of my high school experience, one of my teachers recommended I apply to UVU. My dad is the only one in my family who went to college, and I didn’t imagine myself going when I was younger. But the possibility of higher education became appealing to me as I gained experience in Utah.

I started at UVU in fall of 2019 knowing that I wanted to be an engineer of some sort but didn’t know what kind. As a freshman, I took a geology class with an amazing and funny professor who made rocks interesting and fun. From there, I was drawn to civil engineering, and I recently just matriculated into the civil engineering program.

In spring 2020, COVID hit, and everything went online. That summer, I was hired as a math mentor at UVU. Half of my job was to tutor students in math, and the other half was to help them navigate the college experience. I had students, first-generation and non-English-speaking students included, come talk to me about the challenges they were facing in their jobs and schoolwork. I came to appreciate the privileges I had growing up, such as being able to learn English from an early age, and I was able to empower women, people of color, and others so that they could succeed in math. A lot of people told me they ended up enjoying math because of how I explained it.

Looking back, the mentor job played a huge role in shaping who I am today. I used to be very shy and quiet, and I was insecure about my accent. In high school, the teachers often asked me to help other people with their math homework, but I didn’t know how to speak English sufficiently enough to explain even simple concepts like addition and subtraction. It’s amazing to see how far I have come — how I was able to learn and grow in a way that allowed me to turn outward.

I am currently the Senator for the College of Engineering and Technology (CET). Last year, UVU student body president and woman of color Karen Magaña inspired me during her campaign. I wasn’t sure if I, as a person of color, could find a student leadership opportunity or place within the UVU Student Association (UVUSA). But seeing Karen, another brown person running for UVUSA, motivated me to apply to be the CET Senator. I’m the first woman who has ever been selected to fill the role. People are surprised that I’m a woman majoring in engineering, but that’s something I’m proud of. Yes, it’s tough to be a woman in STEM, but it’s been an amazing opportunity to work with and inspire other women to make a difference in the science and technology fields.

I am drawn to two types of civil engineering: transportation and environmental. I’m doing research for transportation engineering at UVU right now. Also, since I love cities, traveling, and contemplating the structures of highways and exit ramps, I believe I would enjoy a career in that field. But also, my dad is an oil engineer, so I like to joke that my dad’s job is destroying the world, and I want to pick a profession that fixes it. I have been lucky to land an internship in environmental engineering this summer, so I’m hoping these opportunities can allow me to figure out what interests me the most.

Eventually, I’d like to pursue a joint MBA and engineering degree. Now that UVU has provided leadership opportunities for me that I never imagined for myself, I’d love to gain knowledge and skills in business so I can continue to work with people. My goal for the remainder of my time at UVU and after I graduate is to connect with women, people of color, and others and help them go after their dreams. UVU has a place for everyone, which I truly believe because I found my place when I questioned whether I would fit in. No matter who you are or what you choose to do, UVU will be the launchpad for you to do something great.