{"id":46161,"date":"2023-05-09T14:19:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T14:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=46161"},"modified":"2023-05-09T14:19:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T14:19:19","slug":"spring-2023-graduation-spotlight-meet-ariel-soliz-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/05\/09\/spring-2023-graduation-spotlight-meet-ariel-soliz-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring 2023 Graduation Spotlight: Meet Ariel Soliz-Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"850\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/ACC_SP23_Internal_Comms_CongratsGrads_850x350_WebBanner-1.png\" alt=\"Congrats Grads!\" class=\"wp-image-46143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/ACC_SP23_Internal_Comms_CongratsGrads_850x350_WebBanner-1.png 850w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/ACC_SP23_Internal_Comms_CongratsGrads_850x350_WebBanner-1-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/ACC_SP23_Internal_Comms_CongratsGrads_850x350_WebBanner-1-768x316.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/ACC_SP23_Internal_Comms_CongratsGrads_850x350_WebBanner-1-150x62.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Community College District (ACC) celebrates more than 2,740 graduates at its spring 2023 commencement ceremony. This commencement ceremony marks the college\u2019s 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friends and family are invited to congratulate students Friday, May 12 at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of those students is Ariel Soliz-Washington. She came to ACC through support from the college\u2019s partnership with Capital IDEA, which provides personalized assistance and support to eligible students. She will be graduating as a registered nurse. Hear more about her story below.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Written by: Ariel Soliz-Washington<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-1024x640.jpeg\" alt=\"Ariel Soliz-Washington, Spring 2023 Graduate\" class=\"wp-image-46163\" width=\"512\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-1024x640.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-300x188.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-768x480.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-1536x960.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-2048x1280.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-150x94.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/05\/Ariel-Soliz-Washington-edited-1320x825.jpeg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tell me about your time at ACC:<\/strong> It initially became a tool for me to get ahead in university. Then, it became my choice of where I wanted to pursue my education in nursing. The Accelerated Nursing Track program has not been easy. Going through instructors that weren&#8217;t the most helpful in guiding my education or having to give updates on the program at the last moment are things that I had adapted to through the program. By leaning on God, my friends, and my family for support and being in the Capital IDEA organization, I could persevere and see the end of the finish line!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How does it feel to be graduating:<\/strong> It&#8217;s a surreal feeling! I graduated from high school and from a cosmetology program, and my years in university were either not going to be used, or I had chosen the wrong path. Now, I will cross that finish line and graduate from a college program. Being a first-generation college student and accomplishing this is a big deal in my family!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What was your favorite part of ACC:<\/strong> I am so grateful to have met my friends and have the community and connection that I do through the nursing program! We are like a big family, and encouraging each other and not feeling alone in this has been a blessing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Any faculty or staff you want to recognize supporting you:<\/strong> Professor Levy, Professor Latham, Professor Hamade, and Professor Jackson all have a special place in my heart. Through each stage in this program, they have played an important role for me in guidance and making this experience a lot easier.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What is next for you: <\/strong>I want to pursue my BSN degree after getting into a great work routine, as I have acquired a position with Dell Seton starting in June. This is just the beginning!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What would you tell someone considering applying for college: <\/strong>Everyone is different in what they&#8217;re walking through when deciding whether or not to go to college. Personally, through my life experience, I have loosened my harder stance of going to college immediately after high school for other people. ACC is a special place because it offers trade programs and a wider variety of possibilities for someone unsure. Make sure that you are researching colleges, and make sure the resources you&#8217;re anticipating using are available for you. Financial Aid, scholarships, and programs like Capital IDEA serve as a tool to relieve the financial challenge that some people face that may be holding them back from pursuing college. If you&#8217;re considering applying and going to college, I say do it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congrats Grads! Hear from ACC graduate Ariel Soliz-Washington. Ariel is completing her degree in Nursing. <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/05\/09\/spring-2023-graduation-spotlight-meet-ariel-soliz-washington\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":46162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15,17,19],"tags":[2184,40,2185,69,434,2175],"class_list":["post-46161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-students-and-alumni","tag-2023-spring-commencement","tag-commencement","tag-congrats-grads-2","tag-graduation","tag-nursing","tag-spring-2023-graduation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}