With a goal to teach English as a Second Language, she wanted to obtain her BA in English so she could have a more profound understanding of the English language, writing, and literature in English.

"My mother always emphasized how great the University of Iowa is. Because her mother has worked in research at the Medical Education and Research Facility (MERF) and medical laboratories since her family moved to the United States in 2005, she spent a lot of time at the University of Iowa as a child. She also attended Kirkwood Community College, where she obtained an associate's degree. The transition from Kirkwood to Iowa was seamless, as Iowa accepted all of her credits."

One of Julieta's memorable moments is taking a trip to the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences for Victorian literature. She got to touch and read nineteenth-century texts in the rare book collection. "It was an amazing opportunity to see such fragile texts and to be able to learn something from them."

Her time at Iowa will never look like another person's—and that's okay. Everybody takes different routes during their academic career. Some students change majors (more than once, even), and some students take a fifth year or a gap year. It's important to not compare yourself to your peers. We all experience college differently, and that's what makes our college experience special.