La Matriz Sagrada Scholarship

It was the summer, and I was 17 years old. I was working at a corner store when a customer came in. I had known this woman for about two years working at this little bodega, we talked and she asked me if I had plans to go to college. I had just had my son last year barely a year old. I said, “Yes but I’m not sure where to go. I really can’t go too far since I have to take care of my baby.” She then said something that shocked and upset me. “Well, this wouldn’t be such a hard decision if hadn’t opened your legs.” I was stunned, what could I even say? A knot formed in the back of my throat and tears formed in the corner of my eyes I managed to croak out a meek and low, “Yeah.” My mother who worked in the same corner store overheard our conversation. She yelled at that lady. I remember the words like it was just yesterday, and whenever I wish to cower they ring in my ear so loudly it's like she yelled them in my ear. “My daughter can do anything! She will go to school and she can study anything she wants. Just because she had her baby doesn't mean he's a roadblock. He is not a burden but a blessing." She then turned to me and said, “Don’t you ever let anyone disrespect you or your son like that. If you can’t defend him who will?” My mother was right that encounter struck me. It made me work harder and become more tenacious although at times I've had to put my goals on the sidelines to ensure my son has enough. Still, I've always wanted to work in healthcare and provide adequate and compassionate care. It's always been important to me to provide services and support my community. I thought that my dreams of becoming a doctor were impossible the cost became demoralizing. I made myself sick thinking about how I would make it work. I gave up on that dream and worked on finding other ways to help my community. After all these years, the yearning and wanting are still inside. The embers lie beneath the surface becoming aflame when I go to a doctor's visit or take my son to his check-ups. Working in a not-for-profit organization showed me that we have a severe need for healthcare providers, specialists, and dentists including pediatric and prenatal providers. I wish to return to school and get my nursing degree to become a registered nurse. Eventually, I hope to become a nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health. Becoming a registered nurse will help me finally achieve my dreams. Working as a nurse will give me flexible hours as the hours I work and the pay I receive is inadequate to raise my son the way I wish I could raise him. I wish he could experience the same things his friends can and unfortunately, because of our economic standing, he can't. Going back to school will demonstrate to my son that to achieve your dreams one must have perseverance, courage, tenacity, and initiative to work towards your goals. Regardless of time, it can still be possible to achieve your goals.

My mom became a mother at just 16, and her story of resilience and strength has shaped the person I am today. She was a teenage mom with limited resources and few opportunities, yet she built a life full of love and determination for our family. Her sacrifices taught me that perseverance isn’t just about pushing through challenges—it’s about transforming them into opportunities for growth. When my mom had me, she didn’t have the means to pursue higher education for herself. Instead, she made the difficult decision to come to another country to give my siblings and me a better future. As a single mom, she balanced the weight of raising her children with the struggles of adapting to a new life in an unfamiliar place. She worked long hours in physically demanding jobs, often sacrificing her own needs and dreams to provide for us. Seeing her juggle these challenges with unwavering determination taught me the meaning of selflessness and grit. As the middle child, I stepped into the role of the oldest sibling, helping my mom shoulder the weight of our family’s responsibilities. I became a caregiver, a translator, and a source of support for her and my younger siblings. My mom’s journey as a teenage mom and immigrant shaped my understanding of resilience and gave me the strength to face my challenges. Balancing academics, caregiving responsibilities, and extracurriculars was not always easy, but it prepared me for the demands of life and taught me the importance of empathy and perseverance. Her sacrifices also shaped my outlook on education. While my mom didn’t have the opportunity to attend college, she instilled in me the belief that education is the key to breaking cycles and creating change. I carry her dream with me, knowing that every step I take in my educational journey is not just for myself but for her legacy. I aspire to become an immigration lawyer, advocating for families like mine who face barriers to opportunity. My mom’s story showed me the importance of having someone in your corner, and I hope to use my education to fight for justice and equality. This scholarship would ease the financial burden on my family and allow me to fully dedicate myself to my studies. My mom’s strength as a teenage, immigrant mother reminds me that adversity can be the foundation for change. With your support, I hope to honor her sacrifices and create a future where families like ours can thrive without barriers.

For the longest of time I saw my parents work endlessly for the love of their children, without a high school or college education they always found a way to make things work and to provide a safe environment for my siblings and I to grow up in, they always surrounded us with a world that was so vibrant and and full of life. From the time I was nine my parents planted a seed that would sprout into the generation that I now carry within me. For the past nineteen year, I have been involved in preserving the sacred traditions of our grandparents, through dance, prayers, and ceremonies. I am currently pregnant with my first, and as my belly starts grow more and more, and I start to feel my baby girls kicks its fills my heart with so much happiness, and excitement to bring her into this world, to hear her first cry, her first laugh, holding her in my arms. As my baby continues to grow inside me, I think more about my educational choices that I am making, giving up is not an option for me. When I graduated from my community college in Business Aministration, I thought that’s exactly what I wanted for myself, but being pregnant aligned me in a different direction in reconsidering what makes me happy, and the happiness I will surround all my children with. My future plans are transferring to another University that will offer the degree I truly want to pursue, which is Horticulture, for the longest of time I wanted to become a Horticultural Therapist. My dream is to start a nonprofit organization that helps out low-income communities by assisting individuals who are struggling mentally, emotionally, or physically through the power of growing plants, being able to grow their own fruits and veggies and taking them home with them. This form of therapy is ancient, not only are patients reconnecting with the plants but reconnecting with themselves as well. Receiving a higher education means giving my children everything my parents would have wanted to give me, since they did not have that opportunity, it means that their sacrifices actually translated into all the love they gave to us, it means creating a solid future for my first child and and all my future babies that are yet to come. I strive to give all my babies a beautiful life but choosing an educational career that makes me happy as well.

I was 15 years old, at the end of my sophomore year of high school, and didn’t know I was going to deliver a baby in the next three weeks. I had what was called a Cryptic pregnancy. It is one situation to have a rare pregnancy like this in your mid-20s or later on in life but it is another situation when you have this rare pregnancy as a teenager. When I found out I was pregnant so many thoughts ran through my mind. I didn’t have as many options as other mothers; either deliver the child or have a “late-term” abortion, which is technically an abortion done in the third trimester. I kept thinking “What am I going to do?”. I was 15 making life-altering decisions. I was in a state of dissociation from the day I found out I was pregnant until after my child turned one. I had my mother by my side during those three weeks that led up to my due date but at the same time, I didn’t. I saw that she was going through every emotion in the book and that meant more than my feelings. I didn’t care about myself or my feelings. What was important to me was everyone else’s feelings and how they thought of me. It was like I had no time to care about myself because I had to think about what my next steps were and if I was going to do it alone. Fast forward, my mother allowed me to live at home and help me raise my child because I was a single mother. I decided to finish my education in the public school I was at. Every decision I made had to be chosen for the right reasons. I decided to take college classes during the summers as a high schooler and some credits that I needed for my senior year which led me to graduate high school earlier than the rest of my class and begin my college education earlier. As a teenager, I had my whole life ahead of me but becoming a teen mother I have had to let some of my dreams go which included what I wanted to become. I always knew I would attend college and that didn’t change but choosing what I wanted to be did. After some long and hard decisions that I discussed with my mom, I set my goal on becoming a Registered Nurse. They have flexible schedules, travel opportunities, are high in demand, and have alternative nursing careers. Just what I need as a mom. Now, I am in my sophomore year of community college and I plan on graduating with my Associate in Science this December. I want my daughter to look up at me and see someone who never lets struggle get in the way of our lives. To know that her mother faced many barriers but beat the 50% of teen mothers who never graduate high school and the 2% of teen moms who earn a college degree until the age of 30. So my daughter knows that pursuing higher education isn’t just so you can earn more money but showing the world and yourself that anything and everything is achievable. Sage (my daughter) is the reason why I push myself every day to be the best person I can be so I can be the best mom I can become.