2024 - From Student to Staff: Destiny Guevara

Destiny Guevara graduated from Elgin Community College (ECC) in the spring of 2024. After the Saturday, May 18, 2024, commencement ceremony, she was back on campus that Monday, but this time, as a part-time administrative assistant for ECC’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, where she previously held a student worker position. 

“Working in the EDI office was definitely a huge opportunity as a student, so when they offered me the job, I said, ‘Yes,’ right away,” Guevara said. "It has all really worked out for me at ECC.” 

While working, Guevara is also majoring in education and minoring in policy at Aurora University. Her time as a student and experience in ECC’s EDI office solidified her decision and ignited her passion for not only teaching but creating systematic change in our education system.  

“When I started as a student worker in the EDI Office, I realized I wanted to advocate for students and be on the ground with them,” Guevara said. “After about a year, the more research and projects I did, I realized although I so badly wanted to be in the classroom teaching, I also wanted to be able to advocate for my students and not only say, ‘My kids need this,’ but to be in a position to make that actually happen.” 

Through her student work in ECC’s EDI Office, Guevara was invited to attend the 2023 ECC Foundation Gala. During the event, she met superintendents from the local school districts and was encouraged to not only continue her pursuit in education but to consider pursuing education at the administrative level.

“That was it for me. It’s when I declared my minor in policy and decided to keep moving forward with the work I'd already begun,” Guevara said. “If I wasn’t at ECC, I never would have been at that gala and I never would have met the person that made me realize what I truly wanted to do.” 

Guevara originally wasn’t planning on attending ECC. After high school, she was headed to a four-year university on a soccer scholarship when she got injured, causing her to lose the scholarship and original plan for higher education. She came to ECC because of the affordability, and through the opportunities that not only came her way but that she acted on, she found her place and direction to take her life.  

“A lot of people confuse community college as second tier to a university, and yes, that’s some people's lives. But if you’re brave enough to stay after class, it can change everything,” Guevara said. “If I didn’t do everything I did as a student and ask for the help I needed, I never would have been in the position I am now.” 

In her first year as a staff member at ECC, Guevara continues to not ride the waves, but interrupt their flow, just as she did as a student and just as she plans to do for the future of education.