58-year-old junior motivated by daughter’s dream

Margarita Lopez is not your typical junior. Though she attends classes, goes to office hours, spends time in the library and drinks too much coffee like every other student, Lopez, 58, is also a mother of eight.

After earning her associate’s degree from Santa Monica College, Lopez transferred to USC this semester to pursue a degree in psychology at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Lopez is the second of her 10 siblings to pursue a bachelor’s degree, and she doesn’t let the fact that she never attended high school stop her from chasing her higher education goals.

Although Lopez admits that she often felt out of place when she arrived on campus, she credits her professors and advisors for making her feel welcome.

“I felt so out of place. [USC] is such a young campus,” Lopez said. “It’s like I’m a little fish in a big pond.”

In addition to being a full-time student, Lopez is the caretaker for a large family and has seen many of her kids go off to college — like her daughter Milanca, who she said was her main motivation for going back to school. Milanca attended UC Berkeley and earned her sociology degree in five years, while raising a child.

Soon after celebrating her graduation, Lopez received terrifying news about her daughter the day before Mother’s Day.

“We got a call at around six in the morning that something happened,” she said. “We found out that she was killed in a car accident six days after she graduated. And my grandson was with her, so they both were killed.”

A few months after her funeral, Lopez discovered an email that Milanca had sent her about a year and a half before she died. In the message, Milanca encouraged Lopez to pursue higher education.

“I never answered it,” Lopez said. “She was my biggest advocate. I must’ve ignored it … That made me think I need to do this to honor her. That was [my] motivation.”

Lopez said that although she thought pursuing her passion for education might fill the void and help her cope with the loss of her daughter, it didn’t fully. Nevertheless, Lopez applied to eight schools and was accepted to seven of them, including Columbia University, UC Berkeley, UCLA and USC. Lopez said she chose USC for its accommodating experience, networking opportunities and school spirit.

“[My family] motivates me. I want them to be proud of me,” Lopez said.

Another motivating factor for Lopez is her 22-year-old son Emilio, with whom she enjoys sharing her academic success. Emilio has cerebral palsy, a disease that has left him quadriplegic and unable to communicate well.

“Everytime I get a good grade I always think that my brain is still working at 58 … and I have a son [who is] so smart, but his language is very limited,” Lopez said. “Every time I do well, it humbles me.”

Lopez said, as someone who has had experiences with drugs and alcohol and abuse, she hopes that studying psychology will help her build a kinship with those who have had similar experiences.

Between driving her kids to and from school and caring for her son, Lopez’s schedule is constantly packed. Nevertheless, she finds time during her busy days to come to campus for classes.

“I feel like I understand how someone can get there,” Lopez said. “I can probably help other people.”