For Abigail Trujillo, science offers a pathway to understanding.

Science provides the fundamental understanding of how the natural world works and the tools to solve life’s puzzles.

Trujillo has had an insatiable inquisitiveness about the world since she was a little girl watching science-themed cartoons and television shows such as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” She also liked to tinker with her toys.

“I have always had a curiosity about how things work. I like making sense of things,” she said. “When I was little, I would take my toys and other things apart to see how they worked. My parents didn’t mind. If I could figure it out, I would put them back together, but I wasn’t always successful.”

While a student at Etiwanda High School, the Fontana native saw real-world applications of science in her classes and decided to become a chemist. She understood the challenges and welcomed them.

“It was really difficult,” Trujillo said. “It may not come naturally to me at times, but I will work hard until I can understand it. And I will reach out to my teachers and ask if I don’t understand something.”

Her diligence and determination will pay off when she crosses the stage Tuesday, May 23 to receive her bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

The journey has not been an easy one for the aspiring environmental toxicologist. Trujillo had to navigate from in-person classes to remote learning and back to in-person due to the global pandemic. Another obstacle was finding opportunities off campus to conduct her research. She also reduced her class load to part-time during the spring 2022 semester to help care for her mother, Jacqueline, who had suffered a heart attack.

She credits the faculty and staff at Cal Poly Pomona, in part, for working with her so that she could keep progressing toward her degree. She will head to UC Riverside in the fall to pursue her doctorate in analytical chemistry.

Sibling Revelry

Trujillo, who completed her classes in December, won’t be the only one in the family receiving a Cal Poly Pomona degree during the 2023 Commencement. Her sister, Vivika, who is two years younger, will receive her bachelor’s in Spanish during the Monday, May 22 ceremony. 

“I think it is really cool,” said Trujillo about celebrating Commencement at the same time as her sister. “Me and my sister are really close. Even though there is a little competition between us, it is friendly. It’s great to share this experience with her. She has always been my best friend. There’s nothing like having a sister.”

The siblings, however, were beaten to the college finish line by their father, Oscar, an Army veteran and owner of a truck driving business. When Trujillo started at Cal Poly Pomona, she was poised to become the first in her family to graduate from college. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her dad enrolled in an accelerated degree program at the University of Phoenix and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2019.  

“I guess it is safe to say that we’re all a little bit competitive,” Trujillo said.

Finding Her Path to Success

When she was contemplating which university to attend, Trujillo wanted to go someplace close to home that offered a good chemistry program. Cal Poly Pomona offered that and more.  She opted for the American Chemical Society-certified option of her major, which is designed for students pursuing traditional careers in chemistry such as a researcher or teacher or graduate programs in chemistry.

“I picked my major not necessarily knowing what to do with it,” she confessed.

When she got to campus, she was encouraged to apply for Science Educational Enhancement Services (SEES), a support and engagement program established in 1987 for underrepresented minority students in STEM fields.

Trujillo also is in CSU-LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation), a CSU-wide program dedicated to increasing the number of STEM students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, underrepresented minority groups, and those facing social, educational or economic barriers.

“The most difficult part of pursing my degree has been finding my place within the field,” Trujillo said. “A lot of times, being a woman and being Hispanic, it’s going out into the field and not seeing people there who look like you. Programs like SEES and LSAMP helping you find that footing. You’re able to find community in your field and find your place.”

A ‘Dream Student’

She found a mentor in Professor Steve Alas (’94, biology), who oversees Cal Poly Pomona’s LSAMP and SEES programs. When Trujillo, the recipient of a three-year National Science Foundation scholarship, wanted to focus her research on pharmacological toxicology and the efficacy of vaccines, Alas connected her with scientists at neighboring Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.

Alas calls Trujillo a “dream student” and touted her accomplishments — including her volunteering to serve as a SEES mentor to incoming freshmen for three years and giving so much to the program. Of the more than 600 students in the program, she received its highest honor, the Paul Hiemenz Award. Trujillo has left a lasting imprint on the program, he added.

“Beyond her accomplishments, Abigail is a kind and hard-working individual who shows the utmost courtesy and respect during her interactions,” Alas said. “She consistently displays a warm and caring demeanor, which endeared her to me early in our interactions at Cal Poly Pomona. As she graduates and moves on to graduate school, I feel that I am losing a daughter on campus.”

Xiomara Melendez, interim director of college engagement and retention in the Office of Student Success, said that Trujillo also left her mark as a student assistant.

She was hired during the height of the pandemic and worked remotely to assist the social media efforts for Project CAMINOS (Cultivating Access and Mentoring through Institutional Networks and Opportunities for Success), which was then a new program focused on helping prospective students and their families with college selection and transition. She also helped with student outreach and served as an ambassador for the program during events.

Melendez recalled interviewing Trujillo two days before the campus went remote in March 2020 and being impressed by her dynamism. A couple of months later, when Melendez received the green light to hire for the post, she offered the job to Trujillo. For the first year, they interacted only via Zoom.

“She was very instrumental in helping the program find its footing during a very difficult time,” Melendez said. “She convinced us that we could launch the program on social media. She was optimistic at heart, really connected to the student population. She has always been a really strong advocate for education.”

Trujillo credits her parents and grandparents for emphasizing the importance of good grades, going to college and preparing for a career from the time she started school, giving her that early encouragement and foundation needed for success.

“I remember doing homework with grandpa and telling him I wanted to be a movie star,” Trujillo said. “He said, ‘No, you’re going to college.’”

Visit the Commencement website for the full schedule and to learn more about this year’s honorary doctorate recipients and guest speakers.