Sol Ortega Cueva

My name is Sol Ortega, I am proudly a Mexican-American Student with roots in Jalisco, Mexico! I was born in Santa Barbara but spent most of my childhood in Mexico which is something I am incredibly grateful about as I got to enjoy and embrace Mexican culture to the fullest alongside my family. I permanently moved back to the United States at the age of 12 and ever since then I knew that I wanted to pursue higher education in a STEM-related field. I got to explore life and learn about many different subjects in middle school and high school. I realized that I very much enjoyed all my science and math classes but it was not until I took an Intro to Engineering class in high school that I realized that engineering was the perfect combination between science and math. That is when I decided to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering as I have always been curious and passionate about outer space travel, and aircraft in general.

I decided to attend Santa Barbara City College after high school and I started taking all the major-related and general education courses necessary to transfer to a four-year institution. I still can not believe how fast time has passed since I joined SBCC. Transferring seemed so far ahead but here I am now, completing my last semester at this amazing community college. I am currently deciding where I will continue my academic journey but I am incredibly excited to see what the future holds for me. I am aware it will not be easy wherever I go but with effort, determination, and dedication I am certain that I will be able to succeed.

I am currently a part of MESA and just became involved in SHPE assuming the role of Vice President of the chapter at SBCC. Our SHPE chapter has just recently gotten started but I am confident that we will be able to achieve great things and I will contribute the most I can in the short time I have left here at SBCC. MESA has had an incredibly positive impact on my academic and personal growth and I will be forever grateful for all the opportunities that I have been given including; Attending conferences, internships, personal guidance, and a sense of belonging in the STEM community. MESA along with the C6-LSAMP alliance gave me an incredible experience such as the cleanroom training experience that I was able to be part of last summer along with other students and industry professionals.