Utah First Generation Student Scholarship

“Keep going” Those are the words I can hear my mom saying in my head. In elementary school when I didn't want to finish reading my chapter books because English was too hard, “keep going” my mom said. When I started playing volleyball in high school and I didn’t know what I was doing, “keep going, don't give up.” This was her motto for me and my siblings. She wants us to achieve everything she wasn’t able to. She left Mexico, her home, when she was 17 with my dad. They weren’t able to finish their high school education, let alone think about college. She motivates my siblings and me to continue and pursue higher education. So, we can achieve our dreams, and get our dream jobs and careers. So, we don’t have to clean office buildings and wait tables like she did. There was a time during my parents’ separation when my mom, my older sisters, and I had to live in a women’s shelter. My mother went through a very hard time, trying to keep us safe against our abusive father and still working to make sure we had a place to call home. She completed her GED a few years later and became a single working mother and has achieved so much since then. She inspires me to do my absolute best in everything, and to “keep going.” I was mostly on my own when I found interest in volleyball. From learning everything about playing by watching the older girls to figuring out a way to pay for club volleyball. I struggled to use my voice, speaking up. I was told over and over that if I couldn’t use my voice, I couldn’t play. I had tough coaches, the type to make you cry after every practice because you were constantly taken off the court for not being able to speak up. So, I made it my goal to become a leader, to be someone known for having a loud voice. “Si quieres algo, tienes que trabajar para logararlo,”- if you want something, you must work hard to achieve it. I don’t remember a time when I asked my mom for something, and she didn’t say those words. My mother has always taught me to be independent. From making me work at 8 years old, helping her clean offices, to starting my first real job at 14. Living in a low-income family has taught me so much, but the biggest thing is advocating for myself. She worked hard to give us a better future and never be in a situation where we had to end up in a women’s shelter again. I didn't want to be silent; I wanted to be as loud and independent as my mom. I had to clean my volleyball club building once a week for months to pay off my club fees, which would not have been possible without my mom. I stepped out of my comfort zone and changed from always being in the back to making sure I was always front and center. And it paid off when I became captain of my 16u club team and varsity captain of my high school team for my junior and senior years. And I know I’ll continue to use my loud voice when I get to college. I've known my whole life that I want to go into the construction field, even though it's very male-dominated. I'm not scared of the challenges I’ll face but excited I will continue to use my voice and be doing everything my mom couldn’t achieve.