For Olivia Aguilar, the hardest part of college wasn’t the coursework — it was deciding to go at all. “When I was first faced with the possibility of going to college, I was terrified. I was lost. I didn’t know which direction to turn,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Aguilar carried another distinction into all that uncertainty: she is “the first in my family to graduate from college,” she said.
That uncertainty began to lift when friends told her about the Dallas County Promise. At first, she brushed it off. “I was like, you know, that’s, that’s not going to be possible for me,” she recalled. But the more she learned, the more her hesitation gave way to confidence. “I got more information, and I felt more confident and comfortable with moving forward and exploring and trying college out,” she said. Of the program itself, she said it gave her “assistance and direction” and “promised me a brighter future and better education.”
Aguilar’s college years weren’t without setbacks. After her first year at Dallas College Cedar Valley, a health scare sent her to the hospital. Sudden hydrocephalus that led to several brain surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation. She continued taking classes and exams from her hospital bed, completing her associate’s degree during that stretch. “Even though I was lying in a hospital bed, I didn’t want that to determine what my future was going to be,” she said. “I promised myself in the hospital that I was going to keep going.” She kept that promise, later transferring to the University of Texas at Arlington, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, with concentrations in advertising and broadcasting, graduating Cum Laude.
“I believe the Dallas County Promise is a gift and opportunity for students to try, believe in themselves, and achieve greatness.” – Olivia Aguilar
That path reflected a deliberate choice. “I love video graphic design,” Aguilar said. “So that’s, that’s my field.” Asked why she gravitated toward a creative concentration, she pointed to storytelling itself: “I chose to go into a creative field versus, you know, the STEM or business majors, because I think the root of art overall is just the story behind it, the people behind it.”
None of it happened by chance, in Aguilar’s telling. Success, to her, isn’t a single milestone — it’s a habit. “Success overall, it’s a daily effort,” she said. “You constantly have to try and believe in yourself… I see it as just showing up and putting that effort in and doing your best every day.” That philosophy runs through every stage of her story, from the hesitation she pushed past to first enroll to the discipline that carried her through a hospital stay and two degrees.
Aguilar has also channeled her story into music. She wrote “Little by Little,” a song about pushing forward after setback, and worked with producer Raphael Thomas Jr. on the musical production and mixing. The track is now streaming on all major platforms.
Today, Aguilar works as an internet engagement specialist, a job she says draws directly on skills she built in school. “Some of my projects at work include, like, video editing,” she said. “I’ll assist the marketing team with some of our social posts, along with some graphics. I manage our company intranet.” She was hired full time based on her skill set — evidence, in her own telling, that the daily effort paid off in work she’s suited for.
She isn’t finished growing. “My future goal overall… I really just want to continue to thrive, grow,” she said. “Every day I learn something new. And my overall hope and goal is to just be stronger, happier, wealthier in knowledge.”
Looking back on the program that started it all, Aguilar’s assessment is simple: “I believe the Dallas County Promise is a gift and opportunity for students to try, believe in themselves, and achieve greatness.”
