Maria Arredondo’s day begins well before her family wakes up at around 6 a.m. In her home in Los Baños, the quiet of early morning is filled with motion — prepping bottles, packing lunches and diaper bags, dressing little ones and setting intentions for the hours ahead. It’s in these first moments of the day that Arredondo steps into her most important role: Mom.
A mother of six, a wife, a full-time student and a future leader in criminal justice, Arredondo is redefining what student success looks like for her family.
Arredondo is a senior at Fresno State majoring in criminology with an emphasis in corrections. She transferred from Gavilan College in Gilroy, where she earned her associate’s degree in administration of justice. Now, she commutes Los Baños to Fresno State multiple times a week while raising her children and step-children, ranging in age from 9 months to 14 years old, with her husband Uziel, who friends and family affectionately call Uzi…