I am one of the many faces of foster youth alumni in Texas. Once a ward of the state, subject to the uncertainty of even having a home or a healthy bond with anyone, let alone the possibility of having a dream to start or finish what I really wanted to do. A struggling mother wanting to show her children that you can do what you love, if you only work for it, really pushed me into taking the final step and changing careers, from Supervising Customer service agencies and Managing staff at resorts, to become an automotive technician. I have always loved cars, driving and working on them, but I, unfortunately, succumbed to societal norms at the time that women weren't meant to be technicians. Foster Youth are still a very important part of my life, and I try and engage and help as many alumni as possible, as while I was in care I was the head of our foster youth-led group that gathered from all regions of Texas to bring issues to the state to make lives of the 6,510,210 foster youth in Texas better, more fulfilling, and well normal. One way we were able to make changes pertaining to bettering the odds of life success for foster youth by extending the age of the waiver from 21 to 23, because when in foster care, you don't always graduate on time due to the instability of homes. With Texas still having major issues with the foster youth system, and with me now being in school, my goal is to help the foster youth that are aging out, which I will be able to do as a mechanic in my own way. While advocating and voting helps, actually physically helping youth in need that are aging out is my ultimate goal, with car repairs. If you are fortunate enough to have been in a home where you were able to get a job and afford a vehicle, or better yet if the foster parents could let you borrow or got you a car for work, you automatically had a better chance of being able to move out and start life. But if anything were to happen to the vehicle, the repairs could derail everything that the foster kid is trying to achieve. Can't get to school, can't get to work, and things just start slowly falling apart. Yes, there are programs here and there, but they aren't easily accessible and are usually overwhelmed with the amount of needs that they are presented with. There are thousands of foster youth in Texas today, and aging out is never an easy task. My ultimate goal once I finish school, and achieve my ASE's completion, over the next 2-3 years I will start the process to start my own shop, that will not only offer discounted repair to foster youth, but will assist groups homes and foster youth in the search and evaluation of good used cars for youth aging out of foster care. Children are our future, and turning 18 definitely doesn't mean you have it all figured out or won't need help. I am personally glad to even be considered and am grateful for the opportunity to get help to achieve my dream, to help others, and to keep going no matter what.
When I was younger, like many boys my age, I was intrigued by anything with a loud engine. I remember the first ever live show I went to was a Monster Jam show in the old Kings stadium, before they had built the Golden One Center. I can still hear those screaming racing v8s echoing through that stadium. I can remember the show ended early due to technical difficulties and I got a Donkey Kong monster truck stuffed animal for compensation. I still have that to this day. Also, the movie Cars came out a year after I was born, and my parents would watch that movie on loop with me if we got rained in. That is still one of my favorite movies to watch, even as a soon high school graduate. Before I even learned how to read, my grandparents gave me my first Lego set. From that point on I loved to tear apart and rebuild things. Fast forward to high school, I begin to learn more and more about my parents. When my parents were dating, they were in a four-wheeling club in Southern California. Well, it was mostly a Jeep club, but my dad had a Toyota. When I look at those almost 30 year old photos of my dad scaling cliffs, it makes me want to time travel to when times were simple. I wanted to live in a time when if you had motor problems, you rebuilt a carburetor. Almost every Saturday morning I try to make it to Folsom Cars and Coffee to check out some sweet rides. I have an 18-year-old pickup truck that I constantly fix small issues on. I’m even in an auto shop class, where I learn to tear down motors and piece them back together and hopefully have them run again.
My junior year in high school my intro auto shop class took a tour of Universal Technical Institute near the end of the year. The first time I toured the UTI campus I was amazed at the potential opportunities for a career this school could give me. This became especially clear after seeing the unbalanced statistics of how many new mechanics are available to replace retiring mechanics. I’ve always wanted to be a part of the auto industry, and to contribute to car culture in some way. Having problems and fixing them by myself is one of the best feelings, and being a service and repair technician would allow me to do that all day.
Along with restoring vehicles, I want to restore the thriving culture that is automobiles, that an older generation once knew. I still want kids to feel the same way I felt when I saw my first Monster Jam show. I want to pursue that by having my own restoration shop one day. I want to be able to restore old cars for both myself and clients in the greater Sacramento area. I want to give back a piece of history in my way.
This scholarship will assist me in the financial aspect of my education at Universal Technical Institute Sacramento, where I have been accepted. I want to help my parents by contributing to my own education since I have other siblings in the home they are responsible for. I want to help do my part and my minimum wage job will not accomplish this alone, especially as I attend school full time. I thank you for this opportunity!
