Francisco Juarez

Name: Francisco Juarez
Graduation Term: Fall 2019
Major: Biology-Cellular and Molecular
CSI3 Undergraduate Program: STEM Scholars
Hobbies: Playing my drum kit, horseback riding, boxing

What is your current status?
Currently working as a shift foreman at a glass manufacturing company. After graduating I started working there as a junior engineer and after a couple months of intensive training I transitioned to Shift Foreman where I oversee the entire plant production of all the bottles we have in our homes! From Tostitos salsa, Starbucks Frappuccino, GTs kombucha, Firestone IPA, and more! Been at that company now for a little over a year and it's been a great learning experience! I really enjoy being part of that team and I can proudly say that I have about 240,000 bottles of great glass quality under my supervision a day for a company that makes a little over 2 million every 24 hours!

What do you enjoy the most about your current status?
The best part of my current status is that I am able to learn more and more everyday at the company. There's a lot of room for improvement and opportunities where I can move up so I am definitely excited to be there and look forward to growing more and more with the company who knows maybe one day I can be the Plant Manager!

If you could give your junior/senior year self any words of advice what would you say?
If I could give myself a piece of advice it would be don’t give up. It's such a cliché but for a good reason, we always think that our life is miserable with 12+ units a semester being bombarded with work. However, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel don’t let those long nights tear you down, keep pushing and look ahead. Today is history and tomorrow is a mystery so, if you ever feel like you’re sinking don't go down without grabbing a hold of something. Sometimes we get tired, stressed, and feel like things are slowly slipping out of our grasp, but it's what you do next that defines you and the outcome.

What has been one of the biggest lessons you have learned upon graduating?
The biggest lesson since graduating has been life itself! Once you graduate this is it man! This is life! There are no pauses, time passes by whether you like it or not. Life is crazy. After you graduate you finally go out and take on a whole new set of responsibilities whatever it may be a job, rent, bills, car payments. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for to graduate, get a great job, and enjoy life!

What keeps you motivated and positive throughout life’s hardships?
What keeps me motivated is the opportunity to succeed in life, the opportunity to continue learning and achieve all those goals that I set. Sometimes there’s a few obstacles or we're having a bad day but it really depends on the person and how they react to the situation. I know that I am not a quitter and do not take failure lightly which is why I always remain positive and try to find solutions to those hardships rather than let them wear me down. You can either feel sorry for yourself and give up or you can pick your pants up and get to work. Failure is not an option but the option exist so make sure your next move is the best one.

Is there anyone from the CSI3 program you would like to thank or give a shout out to?
Everyone! You guys are all awesome and so caring! Not to single anyone out but just from the ones I interacted with the most I'd like to give Noemi, Alexandra and Dr. Hamdan a shout out. Such a great group of people that care about your success and will go to any length to help you! Noemi, Alexandra, and Dr. Hamdan you were always there to lend a helping hand no matter what we needed and always made time to listen to our problems. For that I thank you! You gave us resources, study areas, and the endless hours of your time you all worked to plan events for us. You all truly care and love your jobs which is why I really enjoyed being in the program. I truly believe you all were a huge part in my success at CSUDH and I hope you continue to make amazing progress with all your programs as you did for STEM Scholars.

Updated on 10/12/21