Ms. Aguilar was born and raised in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. Her own educational experience which started as a volunteer in the classroom is what sparked her desire, motivation and determination to help her community stay in school and pursue higher education. She began by assisting teachers at the elementary level, while still attending middle school. In high school, she joined a group that studied and analyzed drop out rates at the high school level. Ms. Aguilar also helped initiate an after school program geared to tutor students with academic challenges. In the final two years of her high school education, Ms. Aguilar worked as a tutor, where she found it extremely gratifying to see her peers’ improvement and personal growth. Ms. Aguilar obtained her Bachelor of Art in History of Art and Visual Culture with a minor in Education from the University of California Santa Cruz. She was able to fulfill her educational/life goals due to the people that inspired her to achieve a higher education. She is striving to pursue her master’s degree and Ph.D. in arts to bridge the gap between arts and in school learning.