Kashi’s Journey Scholarship

"Come on, prima (cousin), you're almost there and can do it!" Brian shouts as I stand at the bottom of a seemingly infinite staircase to my four-year-old self. His encouragement, a testament to his unwavering support, motivated me then and continues to inspire me now. A tear falls from my eye as I rewind the camera, reminiscing about his contagious laughter. On October 23, 2021, at 7:13 am, my cousin Brian Solano Mendez had taken his life. My world went silent, dulled. My home now felt colorless, warmthless, in the midst of losing him to mental health mine slowly deteriorated and I myself became desolate and soon enough had my first panic attack. Growing up in a Mexican family with immigrant parents who persevered through the challenges of assimilation, mental health was stigmatized because it wasn't a visible illness. I constantly heard the phrase "Los hombres no lloran," meaning "men don't cry." This cultural stigma made recognizing and addressing Brian's silent battles difficult and I wouldn’t allow it to continue. Navigating my own mental health I found the power of community and it was how I coped as I was supported by the community and in return, supported it. In my sophomore year of high school, I joined MANAS, a leadership mentor program encouraging young women to strive for success. I got a mentor, a child-mental health researcher at UCSD, who has been a pillar of support and guidance as I expand my passion for mental health and took care of my own. Additionally, I joined a Stanford neuroscience club that aims to introduce marginalized identities to fields in which they are underrepresented, such as neuroscience. Through Sci-Mi, a research program, I investigated how environmental factors affect brain development. I also attended the UCI Medical Academy, gaining hands-on experience in medicine. My interest in public health also expanded beyond neuroscience. I became the San Diego representative for the non-profit Teen Source in California. I spoke about the DOSE family of neurotransmitters—Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins—and how to care for them to improve mental health. My advocacy extended further when I became an ambassador for SB-954, the Youth Health Equity + Safety Act, a bill introduced to California lawmakers in 2024. Through all these activities, I kept myself busy, refusing to let Brian's loss be something I would dwell on and it’s where I fight to pursue a career in neuroscience and public health, not just as an academic pursuit but as a mission to ensure that no one else suffers in silence. I aspire to attend UC Berkeley, where I aim to double major in Psychology, emphasizing Neuroscience and Cellular and Molecular Biology, with a minor in public policy. Pursuing higher education is not just a goal; it is a mission to intertwine the power of science and advocacy to create tangible change within my community. A degree would empower me to address some of society's most detrimental and pervasive issues, issues I have personally witnessed, such as depression in my Mexican-American community. A degree represents the privilege of becoming a change agent and advocate for my community. My ambition to become a neuroscientist is more than numbers, statistics, and experiments; it is a pathway to addressing disparities, especially within underprivileged communities. Being a first-generation student has taught me that my education is a privilege and a powerful tool to break barriers.