Separated from her Native American culture and community, Noel Aguilar-Zazueta had forgotten who she was as she entered college.

“Historically, Native people have been stripped of cultural traditions, cultural songs, language, all of that, because of colonization, residential boarding schools, the mission system,” she said. “My family, due to trauma, didn’t share or teach those practices, because that was safer. And because my parents kept relapsing [and] sobriety is a big thing in Native culture, we weren’t really part of the community. They removed themselves because of the shame and guilt that came with that.”

A member of the Gabrielino Tongva and Mescalero Apache tribes, Aguilar-Zazueta joined the Native American Inter-Tribal Student Association while a student at Fresno City College, giving her the chance to learn the ways of local tribes and later reconnect with her own heritage.

“It was very emotional. I didn’t realize what my spirit would remember, what my mind had forgotten. It spoke to the memory in my heart. It was very eye-opening too, because the values and traditions and morals we hold, I believe if they had been more instilled in me at a younger age, they could have saved me.”

Now a celebrated scholar about to earn her bachelor’s degree, Aguilar-Zazueta said she grew up seeing her parents swept up by a life of drugs, alcohol and gang activity. “That lifestyle became the norm,” she said. “I eventually got involved in gangs. I experienced homelessness, drug addiction, drug abuse. That was the norm, so I was doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing.”

Aguilar-Zazueta’s outlook on life began to shift when she was 18 and enrolled in a charter school that required students to sign up for courses at Fresno City College. With both of her parents having not graduated from high school, this was the first time Aguilar-Zazueta ever considered higher education an option for herself. 

Soon after she began courses at the community college, Aguilar-Zazueta relapsed and dropped out of school. After several years away, she re-enrolled and successfully graduated with her associates degree in 2021. She then enrolled at Fresno State, majoring in sociology and American Indian studies: advocacy, diversity and social work, with a certificate in social justice and social change. 

“Through my education, I was able to realize what happened in my life and to my parents was not our fault entirely. There’s choice, of course, but because of generational trauma, our heritage, it made things go that way…It made me want to help other families understand that trauma and how it affects us.”

After graduating this December, Aguilar-Zazueta plans to work with the Fresno American Indian Health Project before pursuing her master’s in social work at Fresno State in fall 2024. She aspires to become a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in working with Native communities. 

Aguilar-Zazueta has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her studies, and she was named the College of Social Science’s 2023 Sociology and American Indian Studies Honoree. 

As a student, Aguilar-Zazueta said she had to overcome feelings of imposter syndrome that affected her on both a personal and cultural level. “Native American students make up less than 1% of the Fresno State population,” she said. “I am honored to be here in the name of my people and my ancestors, because places like these institutions were not built for our success.”

For Aguilar-Zazueta, success was achievable with the help of two tight-knit communities on campus: the Renaissance Scholars Program and the Native American community. 

Dedicated to supporting former foster and homeless youth, the Renaissance Scholars Program offers academic and personal support to students throughout their time at Fresno State, regardless of age or academic level. Through the program, students like Aguilar-Zazueta have the opportunity to work with staff members to connect with campus resources as well as take part in various events to gather and build community with their peers in the program. 

Throughout her time at Fresno State, Aguilar-Zazueta has also found continuous support from faculty in the American Indian studies department, peers in the Neum Native American Student Association and the Native American Initiative — programming aimed at supporting Native students academically and personally throughout their educational journey. For some K-12 students, the Native American Initiative is the entity that introduces them to the idea of higher education for the first time. 

The American Indian Faculty and Staff Association hosts Fresno State’s American Indian Graduation Honor Ceremony, for which Aguilar-Zazueta will be returning to campus in May. A community and family affair, the ceremony celebrates graduates through Native music and traditions, including a blanketing ceremony in which they are surrounded by family, friends, mentors and others who then have the opportunity to speak of their student’s journey and successes. 

In thinking of her upcoming graduation and blanketing ceremony, Aguilar-Zazueta said, “It takes a community to help someone change. I’m thankful to my community for helping me change…and every time I think about my change, I think about my community.”