CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Lolita Mojica was a reporter for NPR and KCRW, and assisted in the founding of Dhalia Bar Co.
Former Editor-in-Chief of the Viking News, Lolita Mojica, has been named LBCC’s 2025 valedictorian, who was a Next Gen Scholar for NPR and had featured stories through her internship with Los Angeles’ KCRW.
Mojica found herself enrolled as a full time student at LBCC in 2023, with her first assignment for the Viking News being an obituary on Irving Alvarez, an LBCC student who had died in a fatal car crash on Halloween in 2023.
“It was hard for me because I lost my mom pretty early on, and actually my mom was murdered by my dad when I was 4, and as a result I’ve always felt a strong connection to anything prison related, so when I found out Alvarez was a former Justice Scholar, I immediately felt the need to do right and write the story,” Mojica said.
The Justice Scholars program assists and supports formerly incarcerated or system-impacted students pursuing a higher education.
The story was recognized with a second place award at the California College Media Association (CCMA) Awards in 2024, and led her to go the extra mile and send out physical copies of the newspaper with the obituary for Alvarez to his family members.
Being named valedictorian was never Mojica’s main educational goal, but she applied and was surprised to receive recognition.
“Valedictorian was never on my radar, I didn’t really excel, I just wanted to get into a good school,” Mojica said.
She began working immediately after graduating highschool and eventually fell into the world of bartending. Mojica was the general manager of Bar Flores and later founded the bar catering company Dahlia Bar Co.
During the pandemic, Mojica found time to take care of her mental health and became invested in reading, which motivated her to pursue her education rather than continue her bartending career.
“Right around COVID, which was pre-Bar Flores, I was already starting to feel disillusioned because up until that I had been working 60 hour weeks, and once COVID hit, I realized I had no personality,” Mojica said.
When she made the decision to return to school in 2023, Mojica majored in journalism and upheld a “do-or-die” mentality.
“I was at Cerritos (College), I wanted to study journalism. That was all I wanted to do since I was a kid, but I quickly realized I couldn’t go to school and take care of myself at the same time,” Mojica said.
As an Afro-Latina woman, Mojica shared that she had always felt different from her family because she was the only one who was Black, and they were never tolerant of her heritage.
“Growing up I think I believed that worth always came from what I did, and not who I was,” Mojica said.
LBCC has allowed Mojica to build a community of support, including her boss Karla Aguiniga and fellow student Juan Pablo Rodriguez Villegas.
“I think it’s funny how she presents herself in a way with her leather and her big boots but when you talk to her she’s so kind and very sweet and you can tell she really cares about you,” Rodriguez Villegas said.
Aguiniga felt that Mojica had a challenging journey in both educational and personal regards, but has learned how to find support and advocate for her needs.
“Hearing that she was valedictorian was probably one of the happiest moments and I was so proud of her,” Aguiniga said.
