When Lourdez Ardila first attended College of DuPage after high school, she was excited about the future, unaware of the reality that lay ahead.

“At 18 I came out publicly, feeling the freest and happiest I had ever felt—identifying as a lesbian, finding my first love and beginning my adult life,” she said. “However, in that same year, I began a fight for my life after being blindsided by a diagnosis of severe Crohn’s disease. I needed several emergency surgeries due to my disease’s unknown progression, fell into a coma from medical trauma and became disabled.”

After two years of hospitalization with little to no progress, Ardila was discharged for reasons of patient comfort in hopes that it would aid her recovery. Unfortunately, as her friends continued building their lives and enjoying new adventures, she was relearning how to walk up a flight of stairs and perform other simple tasks.

I loved all of my professors. They were adamant and passionate about what they taught.

Lourdez Ardila

“I was traumatized by the loss of my previous life, friendships and relationships,” she said. “I reentered a world that had unintentionally left me behind, leaving me at my lowest mental point. However, this hindrance became my greatest motivator, driving me to not only get better but also accomplish my dream of earning a degree.”

The road back would not be easy. Having medically withdrawn from all of her previous COD classes, Ardila was on academic probation, plus she worried about any stress exacerbating her medical condition. Her first semester was online during the pandemic, and she decided to fully commit to her studies.

“I had to face my fears,” she said. “I made sure to go above and beyond in each class because I needed to keep my financial aid and not go back on probation. By the end of the semester, I had earned all A’s.”

As students returned to in-person learning, Ardila initially remained online due to her autoimmune disease. Once she came back to campus, she knew COD was the right place for her.

Ardila immersed herself in campus life, being named an Honors Scholar, becoming an appointed officer of the Psi Beta Psychology Club, and being a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Honors program, the latter presenting her with multiple research opportunities.

“Under the mentorship of Professors Ken Grey, Joseph DalSanto, Brian Brown and Bonnie Loder, I have been able to conduct my own individual research in different fields including psychology, astronomy, philosophy/ethics and language,” she said, “These research projects, completed outside of the curriculum of the courses, are something I could not be more grateful for as they introduced me to my love for research and data analysis.”

In earning her Associate in Arts degree, Ardila was named one of the College’s two outstanding graduates. She also received the annual Honors Transfer Scholarship to Aurora University, where she plans to major in industrial organizational psychology and minor in behavioral and/or clinical psychology. Her goals include earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees and pursuing a career in human resources or as a data analyst.

Outside of school, Ardila is a member of Take Steps for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, where she advocates and fundraisers for those who suffer from the same diseases she does.

“Ever since my diagnosis, I have fought for the autoimmune community’s deserved recognition and cure,” she said. “As a team captain within Take Steps, I am responsible for my team to raise funds to reach a specific goal and participate in walk events for the Chicago Western Suburbs Division.”

While her time at COD was interrupted by a health crisis that put her future on hold, Ardila is glad she returned and thanks the College for all it has done for her.

“COD gave me a second chance at life,” she said. “Living in a constant state of fear and anxiety prevented me from pursuing anything stress-related. But I believe in running into your fears. I exceeded my own expectations, discovering my passion for psychology and proving to myself that I can obtain all I felt I lost. I dreamt of achieving a 4.0 GPA for my associate’s, for which I am very proud to have obtained, and I’m honored to be a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

“I loved all of my professors. They were adamant and passionate about what they taught, while I never had to struggle to find a resource that could help me. I went from hard times and adversity, from being on academic probation, to being named an outstanding graduate. This shows that any student wanting to learn can succeed at College of DuPage.”