I’ve always been aware of the unequal treatment and discrimination towards young adults and elders despite how much they contribute to this country. The country where people come from all over the world to live what’s called “The American Dream.’ Truly we all aspire and hope to reach such a goal but unfortunately immigrants struggle with rough obstacles to reach this goal. It’s a beautiful country where we can learn and experience different cultures, backgrounds, and much more! It’s unfortunate how we don’t appreciate the beauty of this and truly how blessed we are to be in a diverse country. It’s even more unfortunate how people discriminate against others only because they speak differently, dress differently, and eat different food. I am currently an undergraduate. I am majoring in criminal justice and double majoring for business Spanish and paralegal. I am currently taking a course called Sociology. As mentioned, I’ve always known about the unequal treatment towards people who are of a different race or gender; however, this course has truly taught me so much more and I would recommend it to everyone. It truly taught me how unfair the system is to anybody. People who live in poverty have little to no access to resources or any help from law enforcement. During this terrible time, many people being racially identified and taken into custody because of their color. Sentencing being lower towards Caucasian men. “The sentencing project” article talked about how Latinx are imprisoned 4.2 times more than whites. In my future career, I plan on advocating reforms in justice and fairness for all. Yes, I am aware that not everything will always be fair but advocating for these issues can absolutely change someone’s life, experience and thoughts about law enforcement, and reassure them that this country truly tries justice. I plan on becoming an attorney. An immigration attorney is my main focus, but I have plenty of years ahead of me to pick up a different law career. My goal isn’t to just help immigrants and defend them from unequal treatment they may receive from law enforcement or others, but my goal is also to help build this system for the better and be there for the change. I hope and will ensure justice serves equally no matter race, sex, or identity. To prepare for work and the criminal justice system, I have joined a club in my university that helps learn about immigration law and system. I have joined a second club that consists of people from different countries, some are international students. This helps me learn about other people’s backgrounds and lives. As for work, I have yet to be given a chance to have an opportunity, but I truly am determined to get an internship during summer. I will be studying abroad for a short-term this upcoming year as well. I hope to learn more about people and gain more knowledge. Through community engagement and studying, it helps me be directly involved with the experience and education I will receive. When opportunities are given, I will take whether it’s volunteering, internship, study abroad, or more. It brings me closer to my career and equity. I will stand by morals and dedicate myself to this. Thank you.

Recently in my sociology course, I have learned about social identity. I had to do an assignment based on what my social identity is and how it helps me socialize with people. I gave it some thought for a couple of minutes to think about what the most significant thing about myself is and now I am currently feeling the same way. Unsure of what to say. There are so many things I could talk about myself, whether it’s flaws or amazing things. For example, a flaw about myself is that I am very clumsy. Although some people find it funny, it gets irritating when I drop plenty of drinks at work or when I’ve fallen several times during practice in taekwondo. Yikes... It’s definitely embarrassing when one falls while trying to do a roundhouse kick. Trust me, I’m talking from experience. Now for a positive I would say I am quite skilled in what I’m taught. I am clumsy in my martial arts courses. Taekwondo? I fell. Filipino martial arts? I hit my head with the stick, but I am skilled. Not to brag but I am a black belt for a reason. When it comes to education, I am smart I won’t lie in that. I am very smart in math and a quick learner. I went to a school where I studied agriculture, business, environmental engineering and so much more. I would volunteer whenever we did invasive tree removal such as honeysuckle trees. I learned a lot about the environment, and I did a small business with natural soaps for people with eczema and sensitive skin. We even went to see how recycling companies do stuff, and we went to the Ohio river to learn more about water pollution! Although I enjoyed doing these fantastic things for the world and our environment, it’s not what I want to do as a career. My heart is set on fighting for those who need someone to defend them in court. Law. There are so many paths, and I want to do so much. I want to do environmental law, criminal attorney, immigration lawyer and more. All I know is that I want to help people and do justice. Perhaps I can’t be something big in the world, but I truly hope to make a positive impact in someone’s life. For that, I am passionate about what I am pursuing. I am set to do law and do everything in my power to help who I can.

Why am I so passionate about being a first gen? There are so many things that could be said or expressed for this question but what’s my answer? As a first generation, I am incredibly lucky and blessed to have the chance to study in university right now. I am so incredibly lucky to be born as a Mexican American. As a Mexican, I have a supporting family that has my back no matter what because that’s my culture. We support and help people whether you know them or not. As an American I have so many resources, opportunities, and much more to take advantage of to study and pursue my career. Now to be honest, I am not 1000% sure what I want in life. If you were to ask me where I will be in life in 10 years, I wouldn’t be able to answer. I don’t even know where I will be in life next year, but I have goals and dreams. I am pursuing law to help immigrants and help people who need someone to speak for them and defend them when they can’t. I have seen the struggles of my parents and have heard about their dreams but never pursued them due to fear, lack of resources, or lack of money. Yes, I have goals and ambitions, but I am so lost. As a first gen, I have worries and fears. How can I take advantage of my resources in college? What’s some good advice for first-generation students? What should I do? Am I doing everything correctly? It’s a new experience for me. Although I have fears, I am passionate and strive for the best. I’m not here to tell you that I'm better than all the other people applying for this scholarship, Now I’ll tell you why I am so passionate after I rambled on. I want to make everyone proud. My family, my friends, myself, even my dog. I want to be the voice. To allow my parents to feel like they came to a different country for a reason, that all the hard work did not go to waste. I want to prove and show to everyone and myself that yes, a Mexican American who has struggled with so much whether it was money, social identity, learning a new language, and more... Can absolutely study and pursue something big. I will admit I am stubborn. No, I don’t know where I will be in 10 years, but I know I will be proud of MY culture, proud of MY achievements, proud of MY career and most importantly proud of MYSELF. Having the chance to get any help I can get is extremely helpful. Being a first gen and oldest child is hard to manage sometimes. Hard to balance work, school, sports, and my social life. Thank you.