By Hannah Lau/ USF ZNews
TAMPA– Diagnosed with a stomach condition at 7 years old, Baylee Aguilar was pulled from the second grade and propelled into preparing for life from home while working with her single mother at her hair salon.
Lupe, her mother, has been her sole source of support, or as she puts it, her “rock”, since birth.
“My mom has always been my inspiration,” says Aguilar. “I have met many parents but have yet to encounter someone as devoted to parenting, teaching, or inspiring as my mom.”
Growing up with a single parent wasn’t easy and with no outside support from extended family members, the mother and daughter duo had no choice but to depend and learn from each other.
In between customers, Lupe would assist Aguilar in every way she could. Even when her own customers didn’t agree with her daughter’s educational path.
“I often heard from clients and others that I needed to put her back in public school because I wasn’t equipped to be a teacher,” says Lupe. “It hurt deeply to hear this, especially when they said it in front of her.”
Baylee didn’t need to worry about attending different public schools, instead, she had the opportunity to enroll in three online schools throughout her educational career: K-12, Connections Academy and Florida Virtual School (FLVS). However, the lack of support from her teachers proved to be a challenge when she did her coursework.
Handed with a great responsibility to make sure she was staying on track, Aguilar and her mother woke up every day at 4 a.m. and stayed up until late at night working on homework. Google and YouTube videos were Lupe’s main source of information when she struggled to keep up with her daughter’s academic curriculum. YouTube, in particular, was also a tool she used to get her daughter motivated for school.
“I made Baylee aware of the privilege of attending school in America by watching YouTube videos like ‘Most Dangerous Ways to School’,” says Lupe. “This exposure helps children understand that others face significant challenges, inspiring them to shift their mindset from ‘I have to go to school’ to ‘I get to go to school’.”
For 10 years of her life, Aguilar took no breaks. Not even summer breaks.
At 13, she was able to graduate from high school and at 16 from the University of South Florida, making her the second youngest graduate there.
“It was a normal day for me,” says Aguilar. “I felt okay, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot at USF I felt a lot of anxiety.”
Aguilar says graduating wasn’t special but rather who she got to spend that day with.
“The most special part about that day was that my mom, who has been the only person by my side [and has] helped me every step of the way throughout this journey, got to be with me in the moments that summarized the end of a difficult yet tremendously rewarding step,” Aguilar adds.
Lupe isn’t the only one who has shown support and shared joy at Aguilar’s achievements.
“I was surprised after I had a conversation with her and her mother, where I learned the hard life that they have endured, and yet, they have managed to overcome every obstacle to move forward,” says Diego Alarcon, a biology professor at USF. “So, certainly Baylee is an example of what someone can achieve regardless of your circumstances.”
With a bachelor’s degree in biology, Aguilar hopes to become a veterinarian.
Her passion for animals began in her childhood when she and her mother would rehabilitate wild creatures. As she got older, her passion transformed into a love for veterinary medicine.
With a recently acquired job at the Valrico Animal Clinic, Aguilar shares that her time volunteering at Noah’s Ark Animal Hospital and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay helped prepare her for the work she is doing now.
“Veterinary medicine is the only career in which you get the best of both worlds: people and their pets,” says Aguilar.
With high hopes and an unrelenting faith in God, the mother-daughter duo wait for admission letters to roll in the mail from veterinary schools.
“Ultimately, I’m thankful for the mom I was born to, the stomach virus that made her pull me out of school, and the hours we committed to taking me where I am now.”