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Before that, the Lapeer resident admits her life was on the wrong track.

"I had a brother, Vincent, die from Huntington's Disease when he was 14," she said. "I was in my senior year and fell apart."

Reeling from her brother's death, Aguirre's grades slipped in school. "I went to being the worst possible student. I decided I needed to get myself together," she said. "I did by going into the Army as a military police officer."

Aguirre served in the Army four years and felt her time in Iraq was actually a life-saving experience, though she did suffer from post traumatic stress disorder upon her return. Aguirre was helped through the ordeal with the help of her fiancee, Lon Richardson, a National Guard recruiter. "Sometimes our dreams coincide," she said. "I'll talk in my sleep. I'll be in a Humvee getting attacked and he'll appear."

It was while Aguirre was in the service that she made the decision to become a nurse. She is hoping to reach that goal by attending classes at Mott Community College. "I've wanted to make a difference," she said. "Right now I'm going to become an RN and want to go for pediatrics."

Currently, she is attending classes at Mott full-time and is taking classes in biology, English, physical conditioning, and computers. Her tuition is being paid for with her G.I. Bill, for which she gets about $1,100 per semester.

Aguirre is taking classes centered around caring for her son, Logan, 7, and daughter, Gabriella, 14 months.

While Aguirre talked, Gabriella sat in her mother's lap Friday during an interview. The infant smiled showing off six teeth as part of a toothy grin and chubby cheeks.

"To be honest if Gabriella hadn't come along I'd probably still be in the service," Aguirre said. "Before we left for Iraq, I trained for the Special Reactions Team, but I didn't want to stay in the military. I give credit to military families, though it's not the lifestyle I wanted to raise my family in."

Instead, Aguirre vowed to attend college for her nursing degree and is in her first year of meeting that goal.

"Gabriella changed my life. She makes me happy," she said. "It's difficult when you're raising two kids. You really need a schedule. I'm taking the nursing prerequisites, but they are challenging. It's rigorous, but I really want it. I think of my brother and it motivates me."

Agurre's mentor is her biology instructor, Dr. Raj Pandrangi. "I am proud to say that she is a very intelligent, mature, balanced, and highly objective with a positive attitude," he said of his student.

Jennifer Decker can be reached at 664-0811, Ext. 8125 or jennifer.decker@lapeergroup.com