Carpe diem (seize the day) is definitely how Alluzyn Armendariz lives life.
Armendariz graduated high school in December 2014, just one day after finding out she had the credits she needed to do so.
“I wanted to move on with my education,” she says. After a quick visit to the counselor and phone call to her dad, she was officially a graduate, opting out of the usual spring ceremonial pomp and circumstance and ready to get a jump-start on her future.
Deciding on a college is an agonizing process for many high school seniors, but for Armendariz, choosing State Fair Community College was a no-brainer. As an A+ student, she could get her associate degree tuition free, and with an extended campus on Whiteman Air Force Base, where her father was stationed, Armendariz already felt right at home.
“I’ve noticed that’s an environment that I’m very comfortable in … having people that I was familiar with, that I knew, that were like family to me; it was very comforting,” she says.
While Whiteman Air Force Base provides education to both military and nonmilitary personnel with access to the base, its proximity to Air Force life makes it unique among SFCC’s seven campuses.
“When I was there, I was in class with people who were young, about to retire and everywhere in between,” Armendariz explains. “So there was a wide variety of ages, which was really great. The diverse range of ages, backgrounds and experiences made community involvement just as educational as the classroom.”
Not one to lose momentum, Armendariz finished her associate degree in an incredible year and a half. Her classes, she says, weren’t always a breeze, but her teachers were dedicated to ensuring each of their students made the most of their education.
“What I learned from State Fair was really how to teach myself the material,” she says. “I feel like those skills transferred over so well to being able to be on my own and finding my way.”
And she’s doing exactly that now at Arizona State, where she and her advisors have put together a new interdisciplinary program combining Armendariz’s love of Biology and Special Events Management.
As Armendariz continues to carve out her own path in Arizona, she’ll always be thankful for the solid foundation of support she found at SFCC.
“I appreciate all those people who were there along the way, and I just want to say thank you to all of them,” Armendariz says.
Story by Jackson Ingram
Summer 2017 Communications Intern
Marketing and Communications
