Daniela Aguirre Found Guidance, Direction, and Inspiration at SBCC

After a Tough Semester in Arizona, She Returned to the ‘Best City College Campus’

Daniela Aguirre | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

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In the spring of 2015, during her senior year at San Marcos High School, Daniela Aguirre began to feel the pressure of the dreaded college decision. As classmates committed to four-year universities, she didn’t want to be the odd one out, so she chose the University of Arizona, even though it didn’t feel like the perfect fit.

“I feel like a lot of high school students experience that,” she reflected. “When your friend group is all going to a four-year after high school, that’s kind of your vision as well.”

It was her first time living anywhere other than Santa Barbara, which, she noted, was a “real culture shock.” Living in a border city during the time of the first Trump election only heightened her sense of isolation. “I just didn’t feel like I belonged in that space,” she recalled.

Daniela Aguirre | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

After just one semester, she returned home, weighed down by disappointment and the fear that she’d let herself — and her family — down. “What are people going to think of me?” she wondered, as she tried to envision her next step.

Then she remembered that Santa Barbara City College was just a stone’s throw away. It was also voted the best city college campus in the nation. After battling indecision, she went to SBCC’s administration building and signed up for classes.

Being a first-generation student and working full-time, she felt lost trying to navigate classes and a new campus on her own. So she joined the Extended Opportunities and Programs Services (EOPS), which offers academic support to students. She immediately felt uplifted by the faculty. “They really take the time to get to know you,” she recalled.

But what would she study? Aguirre had long imagined herself as a sports agent. A high school basketball player and avid NBA fan, she thought representing athletes could be an exciting career. But a general education economics class at SBCC changed that.

Her economics teacher, Ruth Morales, inspired her to pursue the subject and helped her envision a future in the field. “I loved it,” she said. “For me, it just clicked; it made sense.” Seeing someone like herself, a Latina woman, at the front of the classroom was powerful. Aguirre recognized “many parallels” between herself and Morales, and she was excited by the possibility of following a similar path. “It was just refreshing to be like, ‘Wow, I can do that too.’”

Inspired and newly focused, Aguirre committed to the path Morales had helped illuminate. In 2018, she transferred to California State University, Northridge, where she studied economics. There, her understanding of the subject deepened. She began to see the field not as abstract theory, but as a tool for change. She could be, she realized, a “change maker.”

After earning her degree in 2020, Aguirre explored jobs in insurance and banking, but none fit. Then she landed a policy internship at HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality), a nonprofit in Los Angeles focused on uplifting Latina leaders. In that role, something clicked again — she felt she could make a real difference.

Soon, however, life pulled her back home again when her mother was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer. Wanting to help, but not knowing how, she said, “You feel absolutely helpless.” But in that difficult time she began, selling candles shaped like female figures, donating the proceeds to the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara. This gave her a sense of helping, but it also blossomed into something bigger.

In 2021, Aguirre cofounded the Mujeres Makers Market in Santa Barbara — a collective space for small businesses, especially those owned by women of color, to sell their goods. At SBCC, in Morales’s class, she realized she could be a successful representative of her community — with the Mujeres Makers Market, she did just that. And even though she had to step away as her mother’s health declined, the market continues as a successful enterprise in the community.

Eventually, Aguirre entered the Santa Barbara College of Law and began working full-time for Assemblymember Steve Bennett, who represents Ventura and the South County of Santa Barbara. In that role, Aguirre gained political experience firsthand, joined the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County, and when Laura Capps decided to run for the Board of Supervisors 2nd District seat, Aguirre applied for a job. Before long, Capps brought her onto the team as a District Representative.

In her role with Supervisor Capps, Aguirre often serves as a voice for underrepresented groups. As a bilingual speaker, she feels especially empowered when speaking Spanish with residents seeking assistance. “Giving back to my community means a lot to me,” she shared. Above all, she hopes to inspire others, as Professor Morales inspired her.

Years after that uncertain college decision, she’s found her voice and purpose — and a deep appreciation for where it all started.“If I could go back and change things,” she reflected, “I think I would have just gone to SBCC right away.”

This article was paid for by Santa Barbara City College. For more information on Santa Barbara City College and the hundreds of programs they offer, visit sbcc.edu or (805) 965-0581. If you are an SBCC alumni please join SBCC Alumni Connect at sbccfoundation.org/alumni.