Janea Cordova Gets a Fresh Start at Aims

But she has turned her life around and aspires to do great things. Becoming an Aims student has been integral to her path toward success. 

A Journey of Resilience and Renewal

Janea was raised in Ault, Colorado, just north of Greeley. She said she had never wanted to be a “hometown girl” and desired to “get out and see the world.” She moved to Alaska, went to Delaware, moved back to Colorado, lived in Hawaii, and then returned to Colorado again.

On this journey, she went to several colleges and never quite finished. Janea admits, “That's always just stung me a little bit. I've always wanted to finish something.” Some of the obstacles to receiving these degrees included family tragedies. Janea’s father died in a car accident. She had a hard time coping with this and other family losses. To self-medicate, she turned to alcohol for many years after that.

“It was easy to fall into that routine when I was dealing with that grief,” she said. Janea remembers times when she would ditch class and go straight to the bar with her friends. She felt she was living a double life. “You can't be a full-time alcoholic and a good student. Unfortunately, school always got dropped because I had to work to eat and drink. That was pretty rough.”

During this time, she fell into the wrong crowd. She deposited money into an account that was linked to drug activity. Janea pleaded guilty to felony money laundering due to an association with a roommate that she had known for only seven weeks. She spent one year in prison due to this misstep. 

After she was released, she could not find work in healthcare due to this felony. “Gone are my nursing dreams,” she said. While she was locked up, she did some soul searching; Janea realized that “alcohol was the cause of one too many problems in my life.” After that, she has been “100 percent alcohol-free.” 

She eventually found work as a housekeeper in a hotel, which led her to a new career direction. Due to her outstanding work ethic, Janea became a housekeeping supervisor, and within a few years, she became the hotel’s general manager, managing a crew of 35 people. “I did everything from scheduling to payroll to hiring, firing, training, everything and then some,” she said. Janea realized she had a way with people and discovered a passion for business. This experience drove her to pursue a Marketing Management Associate Degree at Aims. “I think that people can relate to me and I can relate to people,” she said. “I think that that will take me somewhere.”

Going back to school is different this time because Janea no longer drinks alcohol. She’s used her experience to help those dealing with addiction. She is part of the Recovery Steering Team on campus and leads some of Arty's Recovery Connection meetings. These meetings are for students in recovery to meet others dealing with similar issues and develop friendships. She also shared her full story in the recently published Little Book of Recovery, which features recovery stories from Aims students and employees. Through her membership in the Recovery Steering Team, she attended the Association of Recovery in Higher Education conference with other Aims students earlier this year. 

Outside of school, Janea works as a program coordinator with the North Colorado Health Alliance and focuses on harm reduction and overdose prevention. 

“I am a better person and member of society without alcohol and encourage others to consider abstaining from alcohol and substances to see the positive changes your life can make.”

Coming to Aims and Thriving

In addition to her work helping others, Janea is active in the classroom and student events and activities on campus. 

Although she is now “All in,” her Aims journey started tentatively. “I slowly got back into school,” Janea explains, saying she took one summer class, two in the fall, and three in the spring. “Then I was like, you know what? I'm going to do it this time. I'm going to make this happen for myself.”

One strategy that keeps Janea motivated is communicating her ambitions with family and friends. “I feel like holding myself accountable by letting people know my goals and then sticking to it, no matter how hard it gets.” 

She makes school a priority, even when it becomes challenging. “Classes aren’t fun all the time. There’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of reading. You got to skip dinner with family and friends. Skip the weekend  trip or sledding trip with the family.” Janea believes these sacrifices will be worth it in the end. “Make your goal a priority and just stick with it.”

Another technique that keeps her going is finding mentorship on campus. “I’ve had a lot of people along the way, especially at Aims, that just believe in me,” she said. Janea asks people for career and personal advice because she values their opinions. They’ll talk about everything from academics to the working world and things that have nothing to do with school.

This has grown Janea’s network of support. She sees these mentors as people she can admire and replicate their success. Janea says she can name about five faculty members at Aims that she looks up to as role models. She believes Aims and its employees help generate vibes that make it “a great place to make friends and learn from others.”

In addition to faculty and staff relationships, Janea enjoys student life on campus and connections with her peers. She thinks her previous college attempts should have included this level of involvement. This element has now made the current college experience more enriching.

Janea advises other students to “get involved on campus, enjoy yourself, have fun, meet new people.” She doesn’t limit this to those who are in her classes. “Go play pool with somebody. Wave to people in the Learning Commons.” These friendships are easy to make because “everybody’s going through the same type of thing,” she said. 

Anticipating the Next Chapter

While her Aims journey is still progressing, Janea looks toward the future. 

She plans to receive her associate degree in the spring of 2025. She aspires to transfer to the University of Northern Colorado for her bachelor’s degree. Janea also dreams of pursuing a master’s degree before the end of her educational career. 

What she learned at Aims has built up Janea’s resilience and perseverance skills. She now says she can achieve anything she puts her mind to. 

“Don't give up. Giving up is the easy part. Don't do that. That's what I've learned.”