Hometown: French Lick, Indiana

Her story: "I grew up on a farm surrounded by cows, horses, my dogs, and any other sort of animal that wanders onto our property. When I visit my grandparents in Puerto Rico, I enjoy being on the island and seeing the wonderful things my little island has to offer. I especially love to see the tropical wildlife there. After I graduated high school, I took a year off of school to work and save money. I didn't want to start my college experience in a virtual setting because I enjoy meeting and talking to people. In my downtime, I like to draw and write. I also enjoy hanging with my pets and my family."

Why VU?: "I chose VU because it was close to home, and it had the degree I had been hoping to find to achieve my dream career of working with animals."

Plans after VU: "I want to pursue a bachelor's degree and would like to transfer to Purdue. I would love to work at an aquarium somewhere or an animal rehabilitation center. I have always known that I want to work with animals in some way."

Her greatest hopes and aspirations: "My dreams are to help as many animals as I can. My goals are to someday have enough to travel to see and help the biggest animals before they are gone. I want to be able to keep a personal book with notes, drawings, and pictures of animals I encounter, so then if they become extinct before my future child can see them, he or she could learn about them through my experiences."

What makes Abyela a Trailblazer: "I am a Trailblazer because I believe I am constantly working to better myself as well as helping others. Whether it is stepping out of my comfort zone to try new experiences or helping someone else along the way. I enjoy lifting others up and helping them to feel confident. I'm a hard worker in all of my classes. Even though I was nervous about the difficulty after sitting out of school for a year, I got right to work and am seeing success in my classes."