Older generations of Hispanics are still of the mindset that there is no place for women outside of the home. For many from older generations, the expectation is that Hispanic women are meant to stay at home, cook, and clean for their family. However, the new generation would advocate for a completely different side: education. While it is important to keep family and cultural traditions alive, it is equally as important to complete a basic high school education to be positioned to obtain a post-secondary degree to be successful. This is true for Hispanic women everywhere. No matter the pressures of family cultural values or expectations, education is now frequently stressed as a key foundation to achieve success in today's society. However, obstacles - such as poverty, cultural pressures/beliefs, family expectations - continue to get in the way of simply graduating from high school and/or attaining a post-secondary degree for Latinas throughout the globe. It's for these reasons many Latinas, like myself, thirst for more knowledge and have an immense desire to pursue higher education. While cultural values remain an important part of who we are, it's understood - more than ever - that education is an important aspect of our drive toward prosperity and social equality or we can expect more of the same struggles those before us experienced. I intend to earn my degree as well and hope it influences those around me to do the same. This is the kind of mindset that many older generation Hispanics should strive toward. Fortunately, the high school graduation rates, as well as degree attainment rates have been significantly increasing over the years. I truly believe that just one person, myself, can make a difference for so many young Latinas in my community by setting an example, and not just blindly following the norms of our culture. Latinas hold the lowest education completion rate, and this is why I aspire to make that difference because I know that, even in my own, very large family, I have women of all ages looking up to me, either wishing they had done what I am doing, or wishing for their future to hold the same path. I am not only doing this for me, as I am very fortunate to have this opportunity, but I am doing it for them, and Latinas everywhere. The degree that I chose for my path is Sports Management and Recreation. I chose this field, because it is what I am truly passionate about. My father earned his degree in International Business, so he's been an inspiration for me in that regard. That said, he has always advised that I should pursue my passions and always to believe in myself, which is what I'm doing. I hope to set an example that anyone can do anything, no matter who you are or where you are from. I hope that not only Hispanics, but people from all demographics can see that a young, Latina woman can be a successful entrepreneur/businesswoman. It will take hard work, but I will accomplish what I've set out to do as I have the drive and support of my family. With business management and entrepreneurship, I am taking steps to ensure I have the educational foundation needed to achieve my ultimate goal of being a businesswoman/manager at a high level. I've already begun that journey by starting my own photography business, taking pictures of people, animals, and scenery. I look forward to growing my knowledge and wisdom as I pursue my educational and career goals.

Sports have always been a huge part of my life. My dad played baseball all throughout his younger years, and he inspired me to start sports myself. Starting at 5 years old, I was swimming competitively. In middle school, I was doing track and field, cross country, school swimming, and club swimming. In high school, I was doing varsity competitive and sideline cheerleading, varsity swimming, varsity track, and club swimming and track. I have always had that competitive drive, as well as the team mentality. Sports have formed me into the person that I am today. That being said, that is why I chose to major in Sports Management at the University of Minnesota. As a Latina, young woman, I truly want to change the sports industry, and diversify it. There has always been that stigma that women do not belong in professional sports, no matter the area, whether it be in the media, in management, or in sports themselves. My goal following graduation next Spring would be to be in management for a professional sports team, hopefully baseball or football. Another interest of mine would be in sports media for a professional sports team. Recently, I was working alongside the Assistant Director of Communications at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I was able to help with social media by coming up with content. As a photographer and videographer, I was able to put together four video projects throughout the season for UNLV baseball's social media, as well as go to every game and take photos of the players, as well as the families. This is a strong passion of mine as well, which is why I have recently applied to a similar position at Vanderbilt University.

My favorite hobbies would have to be videography and photography. Being able to capture such special moments on camera, and having those to look back on, is so important to me. In my opinion, there is no greater gift than being able to look back on such special moments, such as a big moment in someone's sporting career, someone's very special wedding day, someone's first picture with their newborn child, and so much more. I could not imagine if I was not able to document and look back on those moments. This hobby of mine is something I would like to turn into a professional career, specifically in sports videography and photography. I love encapsulating the major moments in games and competitions, and the excitement of the crowds as they go wild over a major play. I was able to have a taste of what this would be like when I was at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and I was able to be the primary videographer/photographer for the baseball team. It was so amazing and the best work experience I have had thus far.

To me, confidence is believing in yourself, no matter what other people tell you, or what that voice in the back of your head is telling you. Every day, it can be a constant battle between, seemingly, an angel and devil on my shoulders. One is telling me that I can't do it, that I am not good enough, that there are so many other people out there that are better than me in every aspect. The other is telling me that it should not matter what people say, or what that other voice in my head tells me -- that I am good enough for myself, and that I can do anything as long as I say and do so -- to at least try. This has been a constant battle for me as long as I remember. I have always been doubtful of myself and my own abilities, and held myself back more than I should have. This has held me back from opportunities that it should not have. This has affected relationships for me -- both romantically and friendly. However, this past year, with the help of my amazing boyfriend, I have sprouted. I am starting to learn how to love myself, and believe in myself and my own abilities. I have started to learn that, no matter what other people say, or what I think, that it simply does not matter. I have learned that I am the only person who can hold myself back from doing the things I want to do, and it has been lifechanging. Every day, I am now doing the things that make me feel more and more confident, and not stopping myself from trying new things out of fear -- fear of judgement, fear of failure. I am growing everyday.

Growing up I was faced with gastrointestinal problems that made everyday life seemingly impossible. I would be fine one minute, and the next I would be projectile vomiting with intense stomach pain. This went on for several years, until finally, when I was 11, I underwent numerous amounts of testing, including blood tests and an MRI. I also underwent intubation during an endoscopy to see if they could see anything directly internally. They came to the conclusion that it was probably abdominal migraines and I would grow out of it. At first, the abdominal migraines were unforgiving. Some days I could not even get out of bed. However, after I got used to them, if you can call it that, I stopped letting them control my life. I no longer let them stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Ultimately, it taught me how to be resilient at a young age. Now, looking back at it, I realize that a lot of my abdominal migraines are usually triggered by anxiety, whether it be separation anxiety from being away from the people I care about most, or any variation. All that being said, it taught me how to bounce back no matter what difficulties are thrown my way, and that, no matter how hard things get, there is always a way to come back from it; to restore normality. I know the grit and resilience that was built up because of this will help me in the future. I know that with this career path there will be a lot of ups and downs, “no's:, failures, and many more challenges, but with that grit and resilience I know I will never back down from those challenges, and always prosper.

Throughout my life I have faced a fair amount of adversity. With my father being in the Marines, he was deployed a lot in my earlier years, and we were constantly moving around, even after he had retired. I remember going from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to Summerville in South Carolina, then to Mount Pleasant. When I had finally thought we had settled into a home, before I knew it, it was time to pack up and move again. I went to three different elementary schools growing up. I thought Mount Pleasant was our last destination, but my dad had become a government contractor, and we were off to Minnesota, which is where we finally decided to settle down. It was really hard meeting people knowing that I would eventually be leaving them behind, but I am grateful for the experience. All of the moving around, and my father being deployed, really taught me how to adapt to different things, people, and surroundings, and it taught me how to do so quickly and efficiently, even at a young age. It taught me how to interact with the people around me, and be appreciative for what I have, knowing that at any moment it could be taken from me. However, that was not the only adversity I faced growing up. Growing up I was faced with gastrointestinal problems that made everyday life seemingly impossible. I would be fine one minute, and the next I would be projectile vomiting with intense stomach pain. This went on for several years, until finally, when I was 11, I underwent numerous amounts of testing, including blood tests and an MRI. I also underwent intubation during an endoscopy to see if they could see anything directly internally. After this procedure, it was still inconclusive. The doctors made predictions as to what was wrong, but had no solid answer. They came to the conclusion that it was probably abdominal migraines and I would grow out of it. After several years, sure enough, it started going away. At first, the abdominal migraines were unforgiving. Some days I could not even get out of bed. However, after I got used to them, if you can call it that, I stopped letting them control my life. I no longer let them stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Ultimately, it taught me how to be resilient at a young age. Now, looking back at it, I realize that a lot of my abdominal migraines are usually triggered by anxiety, whether it be separation anxiety from being away from the people I care about most, or any variation. However, all that being said, it taught me how to bounce back no matter what difficulties are thrown my way, and that, no matter how hard things get, there is always a way to come back from it; to restore normality. I know the grit and resilience that my father built into me will show in my future career and my goals to become a businesswoman and run my own business, as it takes a lot of both to achieve that goal. I know that with this career path there will be a lot of ups and downs, “no's", failures, and many more challenges, but with that grit and resilience I know I will never back down from those challenges, and always prosper.

To begin with, I originally moved to Minnesota when I was in 5th grade. My dad was recently retired from the military, so I was used to moving around. Even though he was retired from the military, he was still working for the government, and his government job required him to move to Minnesota for a contract. I quickly fell in love with Minnesota, as I have never experienced snow, or cold weather before I moved there. The phrase "Minnesota nice" was exactly what I was welcomed with when I moved here. I thought it was going to be much harder, being the new kid, but everyone was nothing but nice to me, teachers and students included. Starting in middle school is when I really found a love for sports. I started club swimming at Riptide in Apple Valley, as well as middle school swimming at Scott Highlands Middle School. I also found a passion for track and field and cross country. I started doing high school track in middle school, as I wanted more of a challenge. I would go from Scott Highlands middle school, to track practice at Rosemount Highschool, then to club swimming at Riptide. I definitely kept myself busy with sports. In high school, I started to do cheerleading, which was one thing I never quite thought that I would do, or be interested in, but all of my friends convinced me to join, and I am so glad that they did. It turned out to be the sport that I loved most, despite being "better" and competing at a high level in swimming. We ended up winning the State Championship for our division my sophomore year of high school, and qualified for nationals. We made it to the national finals, which is the furthest the team has ever gone. I was very blessed to have been nominated as captain my senior year. Despite all of the competitions and rewards, however, the most rewarding thing of it all was what we were doing for the Minnesota community. We would make baskets every Christmas for one special girl in our community that was not as fortunate as we were, and make sure she had an awesome Christmas by putting together a bunch of gifts for her. We had so much fun giving her all of the things that we love and enjoy. We kept it anonymous to make sure she had the privacy and comfort she deserved. On top of that, we would host cheer camps for younger kids in our community who were interested in cheer. Every year, we would also hand out fliers to any kids at the Rosemount parade who were interested in cheer as well. All of that being said, now, I hope to affect the Minnesota community in a different way. I am majoring in Sports Management at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, and hope to diversify the field of professional sports in Minnesota. As a young, Latina woman, we are severely underrepresented in the world of sports, and I would like to change that. I would love to work for a professional sports steam in Minnesota, and show Minnesota, as well as other underrepresented cultures and people that they can do anything if they put their mind to it.

To begin with, I have loved photography for as long as I have been able to hold a camera of any kind. I remember the first “camera” I ever had – the camera on my first phone that I received from my parents my freshman year of high school – a Motorola X. Being able to finally capture moments, no matter how poor the quality, was so special. Being able to capture moments and look back on them from those grainy, blurry photos was everything to me. It didn’t matter how much I was made fun of for having an Android, or having a phone with a horrible quality camera. Fast forward to my freshman year of college, my parents gave me my very first DSLR camera. This was a huge turning point for me, as it was when I really started to become confident in my creativity, and my abilities. I started to do sports photography for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and I saw that I was actually really good at it. After that, I really decided that it was something I really wanted to do in the future. Being able to capture sports, and young men and women making history in sports is such an amazing thing, as people, as well as the athletes themselves, have something to look back on. It does definitely take courage to have creativity, however, as it is discouraged by a lot of people. A lot of people try to say “don’t go down that path – artists don't make any money” etc. That being said, I applied to a full-time job recently working as a sports videographer/photographer for Vanderbilt University Athletics, and that is what I hope my future holds for sports videography and photography.