Sep 19, 2026 · 29 min · 10 segments
Grecia Paola Siono Gutierrez and Jose Enrique Siono Gutierrez share how family, mentorship and community shaped their path from Mexicali to studying electrical engineering at UC San Diego. The…
I think it was one of the best experiences that I've had, just because we both share this, like, fronteriza or fronterizo identity, right? Being raised in a border town, seeing the exchanges of both cultures in the US and then in Mexico.
And I think we both were really lucky to come across great mentors that supported our journey.
For example, we both did ENLACE, right? Um, the summer research program with Doctora Olivia Graeve, which is the first, um, engineering Latina faculty at UC San Diego.
And even, like, looking back at our journeys, I think that that was a pivotal moment in our careers, where we both saw ourselves in, like, engineering and also potentially getting a PhD to empower our community, right?
So I think being in Mexicali was really a blessing, just because we were both exposed to scientific exchange, different cultures, and really enabled us to dream big and kind of, like, see UC San Diego as actually an obtainable dream, not, like, something that was completely out of reach.
And also, something that is very beautiful about Mexicali is the people, right? Like, everyone's very warm.
So I think that really helped us in the long run to really be, um, dreamers, right? Like, dream big, wanting to get out of that small city and accomplish great things in, in engineering.
Also, something that I really, really think is great about being a fronteriza woman is that you get access to mentors like Olivia Graeve.
But also, remember how we would have, um, scientists and then also, like, engineers come to our campus to give us talks, right? In my experience, seeing Jose Hernandez come to our high school and give a talk about how he used electrical engineering for the space industry was life-changing for me.
Like, I really didn't visualize myself being an engineer, but I loved space and I loved, like, space exploration and the different, like, Mars rovers and satellites.
And just seeing someone from my community accomplish so much in NASA as an electrical engineer was mind-blowing for me.
So I think we both share this sentiment that Mexicali was really one of our biggest assets to our educational journey, and I'm very, very grateful for that.
I think it was one of the best experiences that I've had, just because we both share this, like, fronteriza or fronterizo identity, right? Being raised in a border town, seeing the exchanges of both cultures in the US and then in Mexico.
And I think we both were really lucky to come across great mentors that supported our journey.
For example, we both did ENLACE, right? Um, the summer research program with Doctora Olivia Graeve, which is the first, um, engineering Latina faculty at UC San Diego.
And even, like, looking back at our journeys, I think that that was a pivotal moment in our careers, where we both saw ourselves in, like, engineering and also potentially getting a PhD to empower our community, right?
So I think being in Mexicali was really a blessing, just because we were both exposed to scientific exchange, different cultures, and really enabled us to dream big and kind of, like, see UC San Diego as actually an obtainable dream, not, like, something that was completely out of reach.
And also, something that is very beautiful about Mexicali is the people, right? Like, everyone's very warm.
So I think that really helped us in the long run to really be, um, dreamers, right? Like, dream big, wanting to get out of that small city and accomplish great things in, in engineering.
Also, something that I really, really think is great about being a fronteriza woman is that you get access to mentors like Olivia Graeve.
But also, remember how we would have, um, scientists and then also, like, engineers come to our campus to give us talks, right? In my experience, seeing Jose Hernandez come to our high school and give a talk about how he used electrical engineering for the space industry was life-changing for me.
Like, I really didn't visualize myself being an engineer, but I loved space and I loved, like, space exploration and the different, like, Mars rovers and satellites.
And just seeing someone from my community accomplish so much in NASA as an electrical engineer was mind-blowing for me.
So I think we both share this sentiment that Mexicali was really one of our biggest assets to our educational journey, and I'm very, very grateful for that.
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