Scholarship / Impact Latino heritage,family&community on desire to obtain degree&how I will give back to community [7]

My parents always emphasized the importance of working hard for your dreams. After I graduated high school, I knew college would be a difficult path to follow because of my family's economic situation. Yet, I did not shy away from my only job opportunity, even if it meant working as a nightshift waitress. My new schedule consisted of working at night, napping for a few short hours in the morning, and heading off to my college classes after a cold shower and hot cup of coffee. Despite the struggle, I did not give up because I grew up watching my parent's exhibit strength and hard work.

I was born in Mexico and grew up alongside my parents while they would sell fruits and vegetables at a Mexican flea market. Unfortunately, I do not remember this and only have stories told to me by my parents, because we came to the U.S when I was only 3 years old. They came to the U.S to achieve their own dreams and give us a better future. My parents went from not owning an inch of land to now being owners of a house in Mexico and a house in the U.S. They have faced discrimination but have shown me that your actions are stronger than any word someone can tell you. My dad was once welcomed at a new job with "How much for the tamales?" and some chuckles. He was made fun of for walking in with humble clothing and a less than fancy tool box. My dad ignored those individuals, worked hard, and landed the job. My dad has now been working for that company for 14 years and has shown to be the most effective car painter there. Each step I take towards obtaining my degree is an attempt to demonstrate to my parents that their hard work and strength has not gone to waste.

I always knew I wanted to obtain a college degree and thought I knew what I wanted to be. I grew up with the dream of becoming a doctor one day. However, as I became more involved with my coursework I realized what I really wanted to be was an engineer. Yet, I soon realized that before college I had never met anyone who was an engineer. While I grew up in a community that was predominately Hispanic, not once had I met a Latina or Latino who had studied engineering. Nevertheless, I decided to apply for the college of Bioengineering and was accepted. I have been through a lot of ups and downs as a bioengineering student. There have been moments where I have told myself "What did I get myself into?!" Also, having the necessity to work in order to pay for tuition has made it difficult to focus my time and energy on difficult engineering courses easier. Nevertheless, I have not given up. As a result of hard work I have been able to become involved in material science research and have recently become a published author. While I have found my way, I know it would have helped to know about engineering at a young age or even knowing another Hispanic who went through the process would have helped immensely.

As a result of personal experience, I believe that it is important for every person to have access to educational opportunities. One way I plan to give back to my community is by developing educational programs like the current ones I am involved with. For the past year I have been leading and developing a writing circle program aimed to help seniors with visual impairments develop their writing. I have also participated in educational outreach programs at a Microbiology foundation with the aim to teach science to young children, an opportunity that I would have never even known existed as a child. One of my current goals is to start a tech workshop for young students aimed at teaching code and engineering principles, since I have yet to see a program like this be offered in my community. Programs like this would benefit the Hispanic community I am part of and even if not every student goes into engineering, at least each young student would have the same access to knowledge that other affluent communities have.

I am proud to be part of the Latino community and seeing many individuals overcome adversity have reminded me of how a challenge only defeats us when we decide to stop working against the challenge. Even though I am not in Mexico, I have not forgotten my Latino heritage and hope that with my actions can inspire future generations through the same characteristics of strength and hardwork that my parents have shown me.