Tell us about yourself.
My name is Sara, and I’m currently in my Junior year. I’m originally from Colombia, South America where I lived for 6 years. I’ve also been sober for over 5 years. I went to [a sober High School], and from there, I entered Augsburg. I am involved heavily in the science community here at the college, and once I graduate I aim to be an aerospace engineer.
Why aerospace engineering?
I’m really interested in exploring and sending technology into space. Since I understand science pretty well, my family wanted me to go into the most challenging engineering track I could find. Through learning more about aerospace engineering, I’ve become more passionate about it. Things that are unknown and undiscovered bother me – I have to find out the answer!
I’ll be here for another year and a half, and after that I want to go to U of MN for a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering. After that, I would like to work for Boeing or SpaceX. Potentially NASA. Some of the papers I work on now actually end up going to NASA and being used in their reports, which is really cool.
What has been the biggest influence on your field of study?
My advisor. She went to Harvard, Cambridge, and was an electrical engineer for IBM. She really helped me understand my steps to the career path I want. Her guidance is more than just career-based, and she’s helping me figure out my life. It’s cool to see a woman excel so well in a field that’s considered a ‘man’s world’. Even in my STEM classes, it’s a “man’s world” – I’m one of two women in all my classes, and the only minority woman in all my classes. Seeing another woman succeed is inspiring, and it pushes me forward.
What attracted you to StepUP?
I came to Augsburg specifically for StepUP. Getting sober at such a young age, I felt like the appeal of college culture would have gotten to me if I wasn’t surrounded by a community that’s trying to retain the same thing.
What really attracted me to StepUP was seeing how the community interacted with one another – it was like watching a big family. There’s so much support in the program. We’re all here to pull each other up when we can’t pull ourselves up. StepUP feels like a home to me.
What is the most valuable part of StepUP for you?
The community and the staff. Each and everyone one of us can go into the office at our worst and most frustrating moments and the staff still loves us so much. Unconditionally. Tim has saved my life, hands down. If it wasn’t for the staff and the community, I don’t think I’d be alive. StepUP saved my life.
Our community is another huge support – the biggest support. [The community] is why I’m here. If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t be sober, honestly. Being able to see a lot of the people that I entered the program with succeed is an inspiration, and it motivates me to keep working.
What would you tell someone just entering the program?
StepUP is not a reason to stay sober – it is a resource. I think the point of recovery isn’t just to remain sober – it’s to better yourself, and become a person that you actually want to be. StepUP should help you find the tools you need to keep on improving and being sober – even after graduation. Keep pushing yourself!
You are here to graduate, and you need to make sure that school is a priority. Keep the focus on your end goal – sometimes it’s really hard to keep motivated, really hard to keep pushing forward, but your end goal is important. You will make amazing friends here. They can support you through your recovery and your academics. Every single person in the building will be there for you.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about the community?
People take StepUP for granted when they’re here – I know I did at first. In the beginning, it can feel like your priority is making friends and meeting new people, but eventually that goes away and you are left with a new family and, most importantly, a chance to finish college. At the end of the day, I’ve never felt more at home, and every time I see friends who have left, they tell me how much they miss it. It’s such a unique place. StepUP is my family, and StepUP is my home.