Enrique Aguirre was not a remarkable high school student. He’s the first to admit it.
“I got OK grades, but my attitude toward education was just not the best,” Aguirre said. “I just did the bare minimum to get A’s and B’s. I didn’t do any extracurriculars. I just wanted to get the year over with. I didn’t really enjoy school.”
That changed at Illinois State University. A first-generation college student who was the first from his family to graduate high school, Aguirre got serious about his academics as a Redbird. Receiving a B on his first test in Finite Mathematics marked the beginning of the transformation.
“I was appalled by it because I had studied, but I realized I was using my old study methods,” Aguirre said. “I realized that wasn’t going to fly anymore, so I spent a lot more time in the library and taking my classes very seriously.”
That focus has paid off. Aguirre earned a Robert G. Bone Scholarship, the highest honor an Illinois State undergraduate student can receive, ahead of his senior year. A double major in finance and managerial economics, Aguirre will graduate with a perfect 4.0 GPA this weekend. “I’d say that’s what I’m most proud of,” he said of his straight A’s college record.
Illinois State was one of 13 colleges Aguirre applied to four years ago. Affordability and proximity to his hometown of Libertyville were of foremost concern. But as he navigated the college search process, something else jumped out to him when he visited Illinois State’s campus.
“I saw that there were a lot of opportunities for me to stand out here,” Aguirre said. “And I’d like to say that I did a little bit.”
Aguirre has done just that. In addition to his stellar academic performance, he’s served as a student ambassador for the College of Business. He’s been both a teaching assistant and research assistant in the Department of Economics.
Perhaps most notably, he’s served as a founding member and vice president of the registered student organization (RSO) Undergraduate Women in Economics. He’s been asked more than once by curious parties about his involvement in the RSO.
“Where I grew up, I was one of the very few minorities, and I always stuck out in that way. I know how it feels to not feel like you belong in a group,” said Aguirre, who noted his personal experience influenced his decision to become one of the founders. “I noticed in my classes that I didn’t see a lot of women around me, and I just wanted to play a part in addressing that.”
“I saw that there were a lot of opportunities for me to stand out here.
—Enrique Aguirre
And I’d like to say that I did a little bit.”
As his days as a college student near an end, Aguirre has had plenty of occasions to reflect on his journey. And although he has charted his own course, he is thankful for the many influential people in his life: his family, friends, and professors who helped him along the way. Foremost among them is his mother, Martha Enriquez, who immigrated to the United States the year before her youngest son was born.
Many from Aguirre’s support network will attend his Illinois State commencement ceremony.
“I always have those people in mind,” Aguirre said. “I’m very grateful for them, and I’m super lucky to be in the position that I am.”
Aguirre has made the most of his opportunity at Illinois State. An internship with Abbvie, a research-based biopharmaceutical company, has led to a full-time job there. He’ll begin his first rotation in AbbVie’s finance development program in July.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey, and I think the feeling of crossing the stage and being done with this chapter of my life—it’ll be an awesome feeling,” Aguirre said. “My family will be very emotional—they’re very emotional, in general—and it’ll be an emotional moment because it’s a big accomplishment.”
This story is one of a series of profiles on Redbirds who are celebrating graduation this May. For more information about how Illinois State is celebrating commencement this semester, visit the Graduation Services website.
