Scholarship / We are Cubans wanting to keep our heritage alive;Scholarship-Goals/Hispanic Heritage [3]

Prompt : Goals Influenced by Hispanic Heritage: *

Tell us about your academic/career short-term and long-term goals.
How has your Hispanic heritage influenced these goals? *

My Essay :
For as long as I can remember, the most significant component of who I am is my heritage. Being Cuban is the experience that has formed who I am and will continue to influence my decisions. After migrating to the United States in 2002, I struggled to learn the language, understand the culture and fit in. My family and I learned to live as Americans while fighting to keep our heritage alive. Back then I thought I had done a magnificent job being Cuban in America. However, two summers ago I realized how wrong I had been.It was the first time I visited Cuba after living in the U.S for almost eight years. But what I found as I drove thru the streets of my hometown was like nothing I remembered. The undeveloped roads matched the broken down homes. Everything looked like the set of an end of the world film. I watched the children play in the street with nothing but soiled shoes. To 14 year old me, this was embarrassing.I was not ashamed of my country, but of myself. I couldn't believe the ignorant bliss I was living in. That summer made me consider that no matter how bad I might I have it, real poverty exists. I also took it upon myself to help make a difference in not only Cuba, but in other underdeveloped countries by one day joining the Peace Corps. I was in no way willing to forget what I had just experienced. It was up to me, as a first generation future college student, to live up to my culture and become educated.Now looking back, it shocks me that I thought staying true to my heritage was about following the "Latin Culture" only. I found that it's about taking wherever you go, the knowledge of where you come from. The attitude of my people has influenced my ability to question the world around me and change what I want changed. My customs have taught me important principles that I will use to positively influence the world around me. I am privileged to come from a background so authentic and live in a country rich in opportunity. This diversity in culture has also aided me in understanding others, a skill that will not only be useful in social environments such as a university but also in the future, when I seek a career in medicine.As a student, I will continue to utilize the lessons I learned not only two summers ago, but also throughout my life here in the U.S. I will take with me a sense of gratitude towards diversity as well as a call to service to the world. Being Cuban has influenced my life and moving to the United States has taught be to adapt, to love to learn, and to always find better for myself as well as others. These are all qualities I have and will contribute to society.

Scholarship / We are scared of something; Hispanic Scholarship - Academic challenge [2]

Prompt : Describe a recent academic challenge you have faced.

My Essay :
It's a lie to say were not all scared of something. Whether its miniature-hairy critters or the thought of being trapped within closed proximities, we all, as human beings, are haunted by something. For me, this great fear is math. Although it pains me to suffer from such a childish phobia, I can't deny that I, a college bound high school senior, suffer from math anxiety.Since my kinder garden days, Math tests have been horrifying events for me .I managed to postpone ever taking advanced course work in math. However, this didn't last forever because while I was busy isolating the problem, the math community decided to add the alphabet to the already impossible subject for me. That's when I decided that I had to get over my fear if I was ever to succeed in college .So about a year ago, I decided to seek help. Like any other problem the first step was to admit said problem. I realized I had made myself scared of math by creating excuses. By telling myself that I was just "not cut out for math" or that math was "too hard and boring", I actually sunk myself into a bigger hole. By this point in my story, I was a high school junior in my first ever Honors math course. I felt that the only way to get acquainted with math was to challenge myself. I became a regular at my school's Thursday Study Tables and used the countless resources available to me to learn as much math as I could in one academic year. It took countless hours, more than a thousand word problems and many composition notebooks to finally reach a moderate level of mathematics comprehension. To me, having the strength to acknowledge my flaws in mathematics is my biggest accomplishment. Although, I have a long way to go before I can compete in any math decathlon, I know now that I have the determination and will power to succeed in any math course I might have to take in college.