Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. A few more taps and Nayelyi Salazar would be a community college student — a big step for the high-schooler from Delhi, a town of 10,000 that hugs California’s Highway 99.
She hesitated. Days earlier, she received an acceptance letter from a University of California campus. Awesome news, but she couldn’t shake doubts about being UC-worthy. What to do? She leaned back from the laptop. It was a Friday. She would take the weekend to think it over.
Should she go straight to UC Merced?
“In the end, I thought, ‘Let’s do this,’” Salazar said.
Today, evidence supports Salazar being UC-worthy, and then some. The second-year public health major is in the University Honors Program. She helps fellow students navigate the twists and turns of academics. She’s on the UC Merced cheer team.
Salazar wants a career in medicine but insists on the university experience being more than a pre-med grind. She enjoys the rich mix of cultures and backgrounds that make up the student body. She gives herself the OK to have fun (she was also a cheerleader at Delhi High School). She likes the idea of taking a year off between her bachelor’s degree and medical school.
Last August, she began working as a peer navigator for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. From a desk in the school’s advising office, she counsels students on decisions about major or minor degrees, or double majors. She answers questions about courses and about the school’s culture. She works behind the scenes to ensure workshops for students run smoothly.
"Nayelyi demonstrates exceptional dedication to supporting students," Student Services Director Brenda Maldonado-Rosas said. "Her strong attention to detail contributes to a smooth and positive experience for them."
"She always goes above and beyond," added Carolyn Barranco, academic advisor and student engagement coordinator.
Salazar said she was inspired by Jonathan Mesa Marquez, a peer mentor who supported her in her first year. “He really understood what we first-years were feeling,” she said of Marquez, who mentored in the NextGen Health Professionals Living Learning Community. “He would go out of his way to make sure we had opportunities.”
Salazar grew up in Delhi, a tightly knit, largely Latino Central Valley town located 20 miles north of Merced and 20 miles south of Modesto. She’s the youngest child of a large family that spoke Spanish at home. Her elementary and middle schools used a dual-language program that taught her core subjects, such as math and history, in Spanish to increase comprehension.
Dual-language programs don’t extend to high schools, so Salazar had to sharpen her language skills as a Delhi Hawk. An already challenging transition was made tougher by the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone attended classes from home as freshmen. She could have rejoined her classmates as a sophomore, but stayed home for half the school year to protect her grandparents, who lived with her family.
“When I was finally able to be a high school student in person, it was like, ‘Ready or not, here I come,’” Salazar said. People she knew from elementary and middle school, along with other students, became fast friends. She added college-credit courses to her class load and joined Future Business Leaders of America.
Nevertheless, she still felt that community college was her next destination. “I just didn’t feel prepared for the UC system yet,” she said. Teachers and friends urged her to take the bigger leap. Her older brother, who attended California State University, Stanislaus, chimed in. “He said, ‘If you have the opportunity to go straight to a UC, why not try it?’”
And, of course, she did. Salazar encourages others to follow her lead.
“UC Merced is all about diversity and respect,” she said. “It has done so many great things for me. If you are a high school student or a transfer, I say, ‘Go for it.’”
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