I BROKE A WORLD RECORD! When people talk about breaking world records, I always like to think that I hold the record for having cried the longest, 5 days out of the week for about 9 months to be exact. This was my reality when I first arrived in this country that I now call home, and while some got tired of my annoying crying, SHE did everything to comfort me. While others covered their ears to diminish my weeping, SHE gave me a space where I felt safe and felt like I mattered, and while others criticized a 6-year-old, SHE, assured me that my confusion was just temporary. SHE was my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Meredith. A woman that up until this day, still remains as one of the few who make up my support system and who has guided me through my higher education journey, even when my struggling mother can’t. However, the most important thing to me that I cherish her for, was her exhibition of patience and using it to gift me an education in this country of opportunity. She never once made me feel like I didn’t belong, instead she took the time to make an investment in my education, by giving up her own personal time to tutor me after school or by getting me practice books bought with her own money, and I really can't thank her enough because that commitment and investment led me to become the scholar I am today, now a sophomore in college still fighting for a dream. What's even more commendable is that before I met her, I was monolingual but through her efforts and desire to see me succeed, in those few months that I spent in her classroom, I became bilingual, or at least with enough English to excel in this new and unexplored land. Some may think that your journey towards higher education starts later in life because that's when you are most aware of what could be next, but to me this second grade year was the official start of my journey towards college, mostly because I had a complete stranger who believed. Who believed not only in fairness, opportunity and freedom but also in Alex. This was the reason why it was so complicated to say goodbye to her on the last day of school, but fast forward 9 years later and she showed up once again, to save me and pick me up when I had given up on my dream of pursuing college. An idea that I had stepped back from because as a first generation and without the proper paperwork then, the chances of being able to go after it were slim, especially financially. From then on she worked tirelessly with me to allow me to set my foot through the doors of my now university. Her advocacy allowed me to see beyond systemic barriers. This impacted my journey even more, unlocking self-appreciation, allowing me to realize that I too, had the skills to consider this treasured opportunity even with the drawbacks and obstacles. At last in the midst of it all, she came to get rid of all that kryptonite once again and to fight my last bosses, so that I could attend college. In other words she allowed me to hold onto a dream and treasure this gem called an education. With this in mind, I learned valuable lessons including, that nothing comes easy, giving up is never an option but most important, that dreams are within reach but that YOU must give it your all.

Picture this. You have just set foot on this new land by the name of America, with promises such as freedom, opportunity but above all and most importantly to my mother and I, a chance of breaking the generational curse through an education. For as long as I can remember this has always been the goal, but that all changed after being integrated into what was once considered the most dangerous city in America, Camden NJ. Here I became a first-hand witness of the unfair treatment of my people, not only in the living conditions that they struggled to survive in but also in the lack of medical attention that they obtained as part of a huge minority group. The alarming rates at which my neighbors collapsed as a result of being failed by the American healthcare system, often left them gasping for air and screaming for help, ultimately tugging within me the desire to do something and adopt this motive to continue to pursue higher education, as a way to one day be able give back. Why? How? In order to fix an issue, you must infiltrate the issue from the core and to me higher education has shown to be MY golden ticket, towards conquering this goal of providing the same quality care that other wealthy regions get, to regions that lack attention and quality. With the ambition of one day working in the medical field, this to me set a clear pathway to reach my desire of one day being able to contribute and a sculpt a system as a medical professional, that understands underrepresented minorities, to increase the chances of better medical care for them. As a result of this, my role as a student while I prepare to conquer the next steps in higher education, has been to serve the same community I one day hope to be able to provide for, to advocate for and to make them feel like they aren’t the grime at the bottom of the barrel. Fortunately, I have been given the opportunity to work on a better tomorrow for them by volunteering at the Camden Cathedral Kitchen a few times a week, by serving meals and helping to provide a safe and welcoming environment for about 200+ daily community members. To further provide for minority groups, I teach language courses for students across regions in Mexico and the general population in my surrounding town for free, every Tuesday and Thursday. Apart from this and to become the most well-rounded student that I can be, I also participate in two more extracurricular activities. When school is in session, I form part of the Biology/Chemistry club and satisfy my curiosity and hunger for knowledge by volunteering at a lab, conducting research on the relationship of chronic pain, sleep and cancer while using Drosophila as model organisms! With this I have been allowed to also pursue my most recent passion of developing a growth mindset rather, than been limited with the idea of a fixed mindset. Through this I’ve been able to step out of my comfort zone and indulge in experiences that have completely altered my perspectives on a multitude of disciplines and allowed me to not only increase my self-esteem but also deviate a little from being the asocial and timid kid that feared change and who previously let others talk over him and his aspirations. With this idea in mind one of my most enjoyable ways of developing this growth mindset, has been by working to adapt another language apart from fluent tongues, English, Spanish and my native dialect.