Felicia Sandoval, a mother of three grown children, returned to college after a 15-year break. She is a survivor of domestic violence, addiction and homelessness. And now she is graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology and is applying to medical school.
“If there’s one word that can describe me, I think it would be resilient,” Sandoval said. “I have been knocked down many times, gone through things that were very traumatic. Life has brought me a lot of trials and tribulations, but I feel like I’ve been able to manage them quite well. You’ve got to use all the negative stuff you’ve gone through to make an impact on your future or someone else’s future.”
Sandoval first attended Fresno State right after graduating high school, but she said her abusive relationship made it difficult to concentrate on her studies. She failed classes and had to withdraw from the university. Trauma led to substance abuse, homelessness and time in a mental hospital, she said.
Sandoval found within herself the strength to find help and rebuild her life. She got clean. She successfully raised her children. She worked hard, taking over her father’s farm labor contracting business and then building her own trucking logistics business.
After creating stability for herself and her family, Sandoval decided it was time to complete her education. She enrolled at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, where she excelled before transferring to Fresno State.
“It’s different when you come back to school a second time,” Sandoval said. “It’s like you’re back, but with a vengeance. If I’m not getting an A, then what am I here for? I’m living my dream right now, pursuing my path to medicine.”
Since her return to Fresno State, Sandoval has earned a 3.91 GPA. She served as vice president of the Chemistry Club and has volunteered for science outreach to elementary school students. Sandoval has been active in the Health Careers Opportunity Program and Health Professions Pathways Program, and she has worked in a research internship studying traumatic brain injuries in domestic violence survivors.
Now Sandoval is finishing a surgical internship with UCSF Fresno, is about to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and is applying to medical school. She is considering specializing in either surgery or addiction medicine. Either way, she knows she wants to stay in the Central Valley.
“I definitely want to work here in my community,” Sandoval said. “I feel like we have a huge lack of doctors here, and there’s no better place for me. I could gain all this experience and all this knowledge and feel great about myself, but what does that do if I’m not giving back to the community I came from?”
Helping others is a driving passion for Sandoval. On top of her job and studies, she volunteers to help domestic violence survivors and people with drug addictions.
“I went through addiction, and I lost everything, including myself,” Sandoval said. “I ended up in a mental hospital, I was homeless. Seeing people like that today, I feel that if there is anything I can do to help them get out of that, I do it. There is nothing better than being able to relate to people who need help. And who better to relate to them than me? I’ve already been there.”
At age 38, having overcome serious challenges, Sandoval is a mentor to fellow students.
“A lot of people know my story. That makes it easy for younger students to ask my advice, because I genuinely care,” Sandoval said. “They come to me with problems that they think are big, and I tell them to just keep going. Don’t ever stop going to school. One thing that nobody can ever take away from you is your education.”
Sandoval’s experience of recommitting to her education made her determined to set an example for her children. Sandoval’s oldest daughter is completing her studies at California State University, Sacramento, and plans to pursue a master’s degree, and her youngest attends College of the Sequoias.
“I raised my kids with the message, ‘After high school, you go to college. No if, ands or buts,’” Sandoval said. “I feel like I’ve been an inspiration to them, and they’re my biggest supporters. I just showed my graduation pictures to my daughters, and my oldest daughter started crying, and it made me cry. She told me, ‘If you hadn’t pushed school on us so hard, I wouldn’t be where I am.’”
