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Nahliel M. Ruiz served as a mentee in the Faculty Diversity Fall 2021- Spring 2022. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and she arrived in the United States at the age of 4. Ever since, Ruiz has lived in Bakersfield CA. She is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, the California Dream Act, has helped contribute to accomplish many of her goals as well as her persistence, dedication, and hard work. Ruiz is a first-generation college graduate.
She graduated from Bakersfield College with an associate degree in Human Biological Science; Ruiz transferred to California State University of Bakersfield (CSUB) earning a bachelor’s degree in Human Biological Science and minor in Criminal Justice. Ruiz continued her education at CSUB earning a master’s degree in Biology.
Ruiz fell in love with Human Biology at Bakersfield College when she took a pre-requirement course Biology 32 with Professor Chad Newton. She was not sure what she could do with a Human Biology degree although she knew that she really enjoyed it. At CSUB Ruiz had one professor, Dr. Kathleen Szick, which she took many courses at undergraduate and graduate level including introduction to cell biology, genetics, and molecular genetics.
Ruiz saw Dr. Szick as a mentor; she inspired her. She was able to become her research assistant. She loved the way that Dr. Szick taught her students as well as was so enthusiastic about what she taught. That is when Ruiz knew she wanted to teach. While Ruiz was pursuing a higher education, she was also a teaching associate (TA) for a few semesters.
After Ruiz graduated and obtained her master’s degree in Biology, Dr. Smith informed her about a program at Bakersfield college (Faculty Diversity Fellowship) because he knew she had an interest in teaching at a community college level and believed she was a great candidate. During the Fellowship program, Ruiz worked closely with Biology professors and took a course in which provided more insights about teaching/working in a community college.
After being in the program for a whole academic year, Ruiz decided to apply for a full-time tenure track as a biology professor. She was granted the opportunity and began to teach for Bakersfield College. She loves Bakersfield College and the amazing opportunities she has been granted.
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