How a Life-Changing Encounter Guided a DACA student to Montclair State University

This is one of several stories highlighting Winter Commencement 2025 graduates pursuing the American Dream and who have found a quality education and sense of belonging at Montclair State University.

While working as a physical therapy aide, Rebeca A. Soto Avalos shared with a patient that she had spent two years on crutches and had much difficulty sleeping. “Don’t give up, just keep going,” she encouraged the patient. A week later, the patient revealed to her, “Thanks to you, I’m alive.” They had been considering suicide and credited Soto Avalos with giving them hope.

That profound moment changed the trajectory of Soto Avalos’ life, revealing her passion and purpose; she changed her career path from occupational therapy to counseling. For her, Montclair State University’s College for Community Health was the perfect fit. Now on the verge of graduating with an MA in Counseling with a Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration, Soto Avalos will proudly walk across the stage at Winter Commencement 2025 January 13 at Prudential Center.

“I’m stepping into my calling,” she says.

A Journey Rooted in Resilience

Born in San Salvador, El Salvador, Soto Avalos was 6 when her family fled rising violence to start anew in the United States in 2002. Growing up, she worked alongside her mother cleaning homes to support their family while balancing high school.

During high school, a severe knee injury left Soto Avalos on crutches for two years. Due to no health insurance and her legal status as a DACA student, she couldn’t get surgery until her senior year.

An honor student with dreams of becoming a doctor or a labor and delivery nurse, Soto Avalos received college acceptance letters only to discover that she was ineligible for federal financial assistance. She enrolled and obtained her associate degree from Bergen Community College even as she struggled with a cancer scare. As a Dreamer, she discovered theDream.us and was encouraged by a professor to apply. She received financial aid and continued her academic journey at Rutgers University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s in Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience and a 4.0 GPA.

Her time volunteering and working as a physical therapy aide at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey, introduced her to the patient whose gratitude set her on a new path toward counseling.

The Montclair Experience

Even once accepted at Montclair, Soto Avalos worried about graduate school tuition. Given her family’s limited resources, she knew that working was the only way she could afford it. Despite having lost her beloved 81-year-old grandfather and battling COVID, she interviewed for a competitive graduate assistant position, which would provide her with a stipend and/or tuition remission. She was hired at Montclair’s Center for Research and Evaluation on Education and Human Services. She enrolled at Montclair in 2022 and credits the faculty, staff and fellow students at CREEHS with helping her during difficult times. “It all worked out,” she says, “and that’s why Montclair is very special to me.”

Balancing her studies with work wasn’t easy, but Soto Avalos remained focused on her goal. She now recognizes that she could have given up numerous times along her meandering academic pathway. “It’s been a journey for sure, especially being a DACA recipient and first-generation Latina student,” she shares. “It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible. You just have to have faith and want it and knock on the right doors.”

Graduating with Gratitude

Soto Avalos is graduating with a small student loan and credits her success to a community of supporters, including one of her mother’s housekeeping clients, who paid for her final semester. “It’s taken a village for me to finish this degree,” she says, smiling.

Soto Avalos reflected on her journey in a brief biography: “It is a beautiful thing to step into your calling and realize it has been yours all along. My hopes and prayers are to leave footprints for the next generation and be a spark of hope and resilience for others.”

In addition, Soto Avalos shared that she lives by the words imparted by a former professor: What happens to you may not be your fault, but what you do about it after is your responsibility. “Having the amazing role models that I have had, my parents and brother, I say yes to the calling with my head held high.” Soto Avalos says.

When Soto Avalos walks across the Commencement stage, many of her family and friends — members of the village who have supported her dreams will be on hand to celebrate her achievement. In addition to celebrating her resilience, she will celebrate her parents’ sacrifices with a note on her mortarboard that states: “Para mis padres que llegaron sin nada pero me lo dieron todo.” To my parents, who arrived with nothing but gave me everything.

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.

Are you a… 

Prospective Student  or Parent? Learn more about Counseling or other programs in the College for Community Health or plan a visit to our campus and take the first step in applying to become a Red Hawk!

Journalist? Contact the Media Relations team for assets or to schedule an interview with a graduating student.