Nina Florez is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is currently working as a field producer for NBC Chicago. Her job revolves around telling unique and impactful stories about other people—but her own story fits that description, too.

Nina, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved to the U.S. when she was 8 years old, didn’t know she was undocumented until she began applying to colleges during her senior year at Lane Tech College Prep. The discovery was tied to some difficult news—she wasn’t eligible for financial aid or student loans because she didn’t have citizenship papers.

“It was hard being a senior and seeing my friends go off to four-year colleges,” she said. “That’s when I thought about going to a community college, but there was stigma attached.”

Pushing past the stigma, the North Sider decided to attend Wright College, where she enrolled in general education courses with the goal of transferring to a four-year herself. She met with an advisor right away, and, together, they mapped out a transfer plan.

Nina didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do for her career at the time, but she took an interest in reading, writing, and talking to people. She enjoyed her Literature 101 class and was impressed by the quality of professors she had during her time at Wright. Nina also says she was immersed in a community of all kinds of people, including undocumented students like herself, which helped her realize that she wanted to tell their stories for a living.

“I wanted to be a voice for people like me,” she said.

After a successful year at Wright, Nina transferred to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she began focusing on earning a degree in journalism. From there, she received her green card and took her first media job at Univision, where she was part of a team that earned an Emmy Award for their reporting.

Today, she looks back on her journey with pride, thinking about all of the different experiences that brought her to NBC. She’s also had the chance to report on her alma mater and some of the unique programs City Colleges offers, including the Future Ready initiative, which allows eligible Chicagoans to enroll in short-term, high-demand programs at no cost.

“When I reported on Future Ready, I thought it was so important,” she said. “Through the pandemic, when people were struggling, they had options [to advance their education].”

Nina’s college experience opened her eyes and desire to change the stigma around community colleges. She believes a lot of Chicago students would benefit by getting their start at one.

“I was lucky to go [to a community college],” she said. “I saved money and had a lot of good professors. I think more people should pursue that path.”