My name is Andrea Lizeth Moreno Cornejo; I was born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico, until my parents decided to move to Colorado in 2013. It was my senior year of high school. Thus my career plans to attend to La Universidad de Guadalajara for Medical School had to change. However, that was not an issue since I would change my career to 1,000 as long as my younger sister's health issues were taken care of. Vanessa is my now 10-year-old sister she has a diagnosis of Down Syndrome, and she needed open heart surgery, which was successfully done at the Children's Hospital of Denver. None of us spoke the language when we moved, but I picked up the language quickly and could communicate and help my parents. However, as a 17-year-old immigrant, being the family's translator felt heavy on me and like a full-time job. I was constantly battling between adjusting to the new culture, the new career path I must take, and being there for my parents because I never knew when they would need me. I graduated in 2018 as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant from Pueblo Community College and earned my bachelor's degree in Health Science and Administration this year. My mom wanted to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA) to provide my sister with proper medical care and meet all her needs at home. However, my mom faced many obstacles, there were no CNA classes in Spanish, so I took the class with her and helped her translate the material. When we were doing our clinical to graduate at a nursing facility, my mom asked me where the water was; she speaks Spanish only, so she asked me in Spanish. We got startled by a man who started yelling at us to talk in English because this is America, and we do not belong in this country. And that we should go back. I was in shock; I did not know what to say; all I could see was my mom, with tears on her face feeding the person she was helping. The pain in my mom's eyes broke me, but she did not give up and completed her assigned duty because she was more motivated by the goodness in her heart of helping this person than the hate she received. Seeing my mom ignore the negative comments, and stay focused on her goals, was empowering and gave me the strength and inspiration to never give up on my goals, despite the adversities I might face as a first-generation immigrant. I want to be someone that inspires and represents the Hispanic/Latinx community. I want to fight for fair treatment and equal opportunities because no one's daughter or son should see the pain in their parents' eyes when all they do is work hard to provide for their families. I want to become an Occupational Therapist to support all the parents working intensely to give a better life for their kids, just like my parents have done for me. And to work with children, just like my sister to have hope for a bright future of independence. But most importantly, I want to set an example for other people of hard work, education, and determination, but also of calmness and kindness. I want to advocate for representation and opportunities to grow without fearing discrimination. Meanwhile, we better ourselves and seek for further education. I look forward to hearing back from you. Warm regards, Andrea Lizeth Moreno Cornejo.

I am a proud Mexican immigrant. I moved here with my family during my senior year of high school, 2013 with my parents, my brother and my little sister. Adjusting to a new culture and language was challenging, but that did not stop me from accomplishing the goals that I had set up for myself. I my younger sister has Down Syndrome, we are 16 years apart, but she is my best friend and my main inspiration for who I am today. After my parents went back to Mexico, I stayed to continue my education at Pueblo Community College to earn my associate's degree in Applied science as Occupational Therapy Assistant. My goal has always been to become an Occupational Therapist. At the same time, I enjoy treating patients and assisting them to reach their maximum potential for independence, and I believe there is never a limit to education. And by that, I mean not only higher education, but any new skills, perspective, and experiences are also learning opportunities. I have a 10-year-old sister with down syndrome, so my mom wanted to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA) to provide my sister with good care. However, my mom faced many obstacles, there were no CNA classes in Spanish, so I took the class with her and helped her translate the material. When we were in our clinical at a nursing facility, my mom had asked me where the water was in Spanish, and a man started to yell at us to speak in English because this is America, and we do not belong in this country. We should go back. I was in shock; I did not know what to say; all I could do was see my mom with tears on her face feeding the person she was helping at the time. The pain in my mom's eyes broke me, but she did not give up and completed her assigned duty. Seeing my mom choose to ignore the negative comments, and stay focused on her goals, gave me the strength and inspiration to never give up on my goals, despite the adversities I might face as a first-generation immigrant. I want to be someone that inspires and represents the Hispanic/Latinx community. I want to fight for fair treatment and equal opportunities because no one's daughter or son should see the pain in their parents' eyes when all they do is work hard to provide for their families. I want to support all the parents working hard to provide a better life for their kids, just like my parents have done for me. I want to advocate for representation and opportunities to grow without fearing discrimination. We not only need people that can speak our language and translate for us, but we also need people that are "cultural brokers" so people in our community can feel represented and are not alone. There is nothing wrong with speaking a different language, having different skin color, or being born in a foreign country; however, for some reason, we still feel like it is wrong to be ourselves. I continued to earn a bachelor's degree in Health Science and Administration through Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2022. I am working to earn my master's degree to become an Occupational Therapist through Belmont University. I am excited to continue learning and overcoming challenges that might present on my path.

I am a proud first-generation Mexican immigrant. I moved here with my family during my senior year of high school, 2013-2014. Adjusting to a new culture, and language was challenging, but that did not stop me from accomplishing the goals that I had set up for myself. I have a sister with Down Syndrome, we are 16 years apart, but I still consider her my best friend and my main inspiration for who I am today. After my parents went back to Mexico, I stayed to continue my education at Pueblo Community College to earn my associate degree in Applied science as Occupational Therapy Assistant. My goal has always been to become an Occupational Therapist, whilst I enjoy treating patients and assisting them to reach their maximum potential for independence, I believe that there is never a limit to education. I continued to earn a bachelor's degree in Health Science and Administration through Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2022. I am working to earn my master's degree to become an Occupational Therapist through Belmont University, I am excited to continue to learn and, overcome challenges that might present on my path. As a Mexican immigrant, I did not have many people to represent me or inspire me to continue my education. Instead, I was discouraged by my family not to pursue a higher education, so I was left by myself to figure out resources and ways not to give up on my goals. I want to serve as a leader and an inspiration and support for other young female immigrants that might face the adversities of traditional Hispanic roles, and do not receive the necessary resources to continue their education.

I currently work at Straka Speech in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as an Occupational Therapist assistant. I earned my bachelor’s degree in health science and Administration in 2022 through Colorado State University, to gain more leadership knowledge. I am invested in helping the Hispanic community as me and my family witnessed the hardship of first-generation immigrants. I am pursing a master’s degree in occupational therapy through Belmont University, as I do not set educational limits for myself, and I am always eager to learn more. As a Mexican immigrant, I did not have many people to represent me or inspire me to continue my education. Instead, I was discouraged by my family not to pursue a higher education, so I was left by myself to figure out resources and ways not to give up on my goals. I want to serve as a leader and an inspiration and support for other young female immigrants that might face the adversities of traditional Hispanic roles, and do not receive the necessary resources to continue their education. Occupational Therapy (OT) uses a holistic approach which focuses on the delivery of client centered functional services. OT has an enfaces on mental health, understanding the importance of addressing the wellness of mental health, to carry over skills and sharpen physical and functional skills, with the purpose to increase activities of daily living's independence.

When I was 17, and in my junior year of high school, I thought that the best career for me was to be a pediatrician, and that I would go to medical school at University of Guadalajara in Mexico, but that changed in 2013. My mom had found out that she was pregnant with my little sister, Vanessa, we were 16 years apart, so my mom had a geriatric high risk pregnancy. My sister was a premature born baby diagnosed with Down Syndrome with many more medical complications that were detrimental for her health, and put a lot of stress in our family. Before the start of my senior year of high school, my parents decided to move the whole family; my younger brother, me and my sister to Colorado, so my sister Vanessa to go under open heart surgery at Children’s Hospital when she was only one year old. I’ve never thought about what happens next once the children leave the hospital, but this time, I got to experience it. My sister starter receiving early childhood intervention, including occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. I was amazed by every discipline, but Occupational Therapy stood out the most for me, it is the perfect combination of evidence based science practice, and creativity. Moving to USA from Mexico forced me to adapt to a different culture, and language, making me better at adapting in any environment in which I am needed. My situation brought awareness of diversity when working with clients and patients from different backgrounds. I earned an associates degree in Occupational Therapy to work with the pediatric population. I have worked with many Hispanic families that have expressed how thankful they are with me, and I have helped them with questions that they were afraid to ask before due to the language and communication barrier. I want to continue to bring that relief to parents, caregivers, clients and patients, to know that I understand not just what they are saying, but I feel for them, because somewhat I have experienced the hardship of immigrating to a new known culture and country, and having a especial person that has brought as many worries as joy in the family. I continued my education at Colorado State University-Pueblo, to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and Administration. But that was not the end of my journey in Occupational Therapy, now I am seeking to further my education to become an Occupational Therapist, to help me deepen my theoretical base, and expand my knowledge to keep providing exceptional services to a larger demographic of clients with different backgrounds.