A lot of CSULB students have challenges at home and in school, but Daniela Mora has had a particularly rough go.

“Coming from an extended family predominantly of provincial women, I am expected to get pregnant, be a housewife and forget my dreams of aspiring to be something greater,” she said. Her path was all the more difficult when her mother died in 2009, leaving her the only female among her father and two brothers.

Moreover, her family remortgaged their home to fund her father’s carpentry business, only to be hit during the recent economic meltdown with major business and medical expenses.

But thanks to a CSULB Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship, Mora is on her way to realizing her vision of earning a civil engineering degree. As part of a $500,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation, the university is providing $5,000 a year, renewable for four years, to 25 students per year who are the first in their families to attend college and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.

Mora exemplifies the type of students Coca-Cola aims to support through the scholarship, said Nancy Limon, director of public affairs and communications for the Coca-Cola Co. North America Group West Region. “It’s helping them reach their personal goals but beyond that, they’re really bright, incredible people and they’re the leaders of tomorrow. That’s really what this program is about for us.”

Mora is a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and hopes to take part in the Reno Competition for construction engineering management students before graduating in 2017.

“I aspire in becoming a great innovator and helping my community become a safer place to commute. Once I attain my degree, I will use my influence to convince the local government to fix any dangerous roads that might cause harm to families,” she said. She’d also like to return to Narbonne High in Harbor City to encourage young women to be strong and consider college. “I want them to know that they can achieve their goals even when everyone doubts them.

“I am determined to increase the 10.4 percent of female civil engineers in the United States. I am a fighter. I overcame stereotypes and my mother’s death. My fighting personality will help me change the community for the better.”

Her family is proud of her accomplishments and she’s grateful for both Coca-Cola’s and the university’s financial and academic support.

“The scholarship has been such a blessing for me; it has helped me so much since my freshman year,” she said. “As of now I am debt free of any student loans and I can’t imagine many students being able to say that. The scholarship and CSULB have given me the opportunity to share my story with everyone, which is also something I would have never dreamed that I would be doing.

“I love CSULB. It’s my school, my home, and I couldn’t think of any other school I’d rather be at.” ▲