Odulia Juarez would be the first to admit she wasn’t always the most focused student. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at California State University Los Angeles, she struggled to balance the challenges of being a mother, a wife, a student, and an employee. Making matters worse, she couldn’t decide on a major, which left her adrift.

After attending several community colleges, her experience at East Los Angeles College finally provided some direction. It was here that she was exposed to Child Development. Odulia would soon return to Cal State LA, where she completed her Bachelor's degree in Child Development with the option to obtain a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential in June 2002.

Odulia’s educational journey would lead to working at the South Central Los Angeles Regional Center for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (SCLARC), a private, non-profit organization devoted to evaluating, treating, advocating, and supporting people diagnosed with developmental disabilities. While working as a Team Leader, Odulia decided to return to school for her Master’s degree, which she recognized would be crucial for career advancement. Next, she would enroll at the University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) School of Business Master’s degree program.

“I was excited to return to the classroom after sixteen years,” explained Odulia. “I felt more prepared and supported by my family, including my husband Mauro and my three children Jose, Sebastian, and Julia, along with my organization. Furthermore, my cohort included co-workers from SCLARC and others who worked in the business field. The Professors were fantastic, and the subjects covered included up-to-date strategies that were very useful to my current position.”  

Flexibility in Studies Was Key to Success

Odulia pointed out that the flexibility of UWLA’s program was critical to her academic success.

Working a full-time job while attending classes, she could participate in evening studies and weekend classes. She quickly added that the professors ensured the workload was manageable. 

Shortly after earning her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Business Innovation from UWLA, Odulia was promoted at SCLARC to Disparity Case Management Specialist, where she served as a liaison between SCLARC’s Navigator program and the Case Management department, discussing the procurement of services for mutual cases and providing recommendations on mitigating identified issues and barriers.

Several promotions later, she was named Chief of Case Management for the Children’s Services Department, where she works today. In this role, she assists the Department Directors with oversight of case management services and ensures the delivery of services meets compliance measures per Department of Developmental Services (DDS) directives, agency protocols, and regulatory guidelines. Odulia also supervises over 80 Staff (Managers, Team Leaders and Service Coordinators).

Gaining the Confidence to Aim Higher

Odulia is proud of what she has accomplished and credits UWLA with helping her succeed in her chosen field and career. “UWLA opened the doors to my career advancement, helped me build relationships with others at work, and provided me with the strength and confidence to keep going and aim higher,” stated Odulia. “The School of Business gave me the tools to become a great leader.”

She further explained that UWLA was the right choice for her because of the short-term of the master’s program, which only requires 18 months to complete, as well as the affordability of the program. UWLA has enabled Odulia to pursue her long-range goal of becoming Director of her department at SCLARC.

Today, Odulia considers herself an ambassador of UWLA. She inspires more of her direct reports and other SCLARC colleagues to attend UWLA to complete their advanced degrees, including Yesenia Valenzuela, who we recently profiled here and who graduated top of her master’s program class this year.

 “Many co-workers have asked me for advice in enrolling in the UWLA Business School master’s program,” concluded Odulia. “To date, more than a dozen have graduated. I believe in the school and the power of what it can do for students. The supportive words Professor Scott imparted will always resonate with me. She said: ‘You got this! Always know your worth.’”