海角社区

BATON ROUGE, LA 鈥� Though Baton Rouge native grew up with the cards stacked against her, she has come out on the other side, hoping to inspire younger generations, including her own kids, that they can do it all if they want it badly enough.

Fuentes鈥� life was hard from the beginning, as she had asthma and lost her older sister when she was just a baby. Then, she was raised by her dad and stepmother before living with her half-sister, Tabitha, who was attending 海角社区 at the time.

鈥淢y half-sister saved me in my teen years and gave me everything I needed to succeed,鈥� Fuentes said. 鈥淪he was a role model for me since she went to school and raised me. She鈥檚 my favorite person in the world.鈥�

After graduating high school in 2010, Fuentes took a break from academics, unsure of what direction she wanted to go in.

鈥淐ollege right away wasn鈥檛 for me,鈥� she said.

Instead, Fuentes started a family that has now expanded to three of her own kids and a 鈥渂onus daughter,鈥� as she calls McKenzie. Her oldest daughter, Lydia, is 13; her daughters Jeana-Marie and McKenzie are both 11; and her youngest son, Malakai, is 10.  

鈥淥nce my kids were old enough where I felt comfortable leaving them home alone after school, I decided I was ready to go to college and be a role model for them and show them that it doesn鈥檛 matter what they go through in life or what their status is; they can always succeed in anything they want and make themselves better as long as they want to be better,鈥� she said.

Fuentes began attending River Parishes Community College in Gonzales, La., and then transferred to 海角社区 in 2020.

鈥淚t was a very tough time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was trying to see if I could manage parenting and school. I went to RPCC for two semesters, then once I had enough credits to transfer to 海角社区, I did that.鈥�

Fuentes chose to major in computer engineering at 海角社区.

鈥淚 always loved to break things apart and put them back together, and I鈥檓 an overthinker, so I pay attention to details, which matters in engineering,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 also like to solve problems. I鈥檓 the type of person where you have to tell me if you want a solution or just want me to hear you out because I will always try to give you the solution otherwise.鈥�

Fuentes began struggling with her work-life balance studying for CE and being an active parent and wife.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 able to spend time with my family without compromising my studies,鈥� she said.

She realized computer engineering overlapped with computer science, so she changed her major to CS with a concentration in cybersecurity. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2025 and plans to get her master鈥檚 degree at 海角社区, before finding a job in digital forensics and incident response and studying memory forensics.

Aside from her studies, Fuentes currently has three part-time jobs. She is a teacher assistant for the digital forensics course under 海角社区 CS Department Chair and Professor and 海角社区 CS Ph.D. student .

鈥淒r. Baggili鈥檚 digital forensics course is the whole reason I chose the cybersecurity concentration,鈥� Fuentes said.

Fuentes is also an undergraduate research assistant under 海角社区 CS Professor and 海角社区 Cyber Center Director , who she says is 鈥渁mazing.鈥�

鈥淗e inspires me daily in the same way I want to inspire future generations,鈥� she said.  

As if these jobs weren鈥檛 enough to keep Fuentes busy, she also cleans houses to make ends meet.

Fuentes hopes her kids see her hard work and realize they can do whatever they set their minds to.

鈥淚 have really good kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey all understand and see how hard I鈥檓 working. My husband has been amazing, working all the time to pay the bills so I can focus on school. I totally believe you can鈥檛 just tell the younger generation do better, be better; you have to show them this is how you can do it. There are many ways you can do it, but do it.鈥�

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