My name is Anna V. Hernandez. I am a proud first generation Hispanic graduate. I have recently graduated from Grand Canyon University in December of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. My educational journey has brought me a long way and with the knowledge I have gained I can make a change. I will make a change. I am from the small city of Flagstaff, Arizona. Which, I later moved from to continue and further my education. However, I always managed to go back during summer breaks to help out. I helped babysit children whose parents had to work long hours to make ends meet. I helped tutor younger children around the neighborhood who needed that extra little push to make it the next grade. The way I helped my community, they also helped me. My life and career goals are to restore kindness into my community, to inspire younger generations to continue their studies and to give back to the community that has helped me get this far. My career aspirations is to open a retail store that has a place for anyone regardless of their budget. I aspire to have a retail store that people first think of when in need. I grew up with hand me downs or clothes from local thrift store, clothes that did not always make me feel pretty or had me stand out from other. My store would be a place where anyone at any age could walk in and feel cared for and could look in a mirror and feel beautiful. The store would also be open to those who are less fortunate and depend on every cent. It would provide them with clothing to help get that job or clothing for the next school presentation, free of charge. With the money I will save by paying down student loans I will start a savings account, in which I can set money aside to make my dreams possible. To be able to give back to my community. I have accomplished my first goal of being a first generation Hispanic graduate. And now I will continue to work hard to be able to make a positive impact on my community. With the money I will be saving, all the things I dreamt of can start to become reality. It will be the beginning of many successful and beautiful things within the Flagstaff community.

I would convince a peer to attend college if they did not want to by speaking to them about my background and college experience. This talk would be specific information and facts. Nothing will be sugar-coated. I will be speaking to them about the advantages and disadvantages of being a part or full-time student. College is complex, and it comes with its challenges, but it is worth it. All the hard work you have to go through will mean something. Since I am attending college, I can help them with the challenges they are going through because, at one point, I was them, and I did not have anyone, but they will have me and convincing them that college is not just about having to go to school all over again. It is about the feeling of achievement and completion. Knowing that all the hard work ended with a degree and a chance to have a better job should be a motivation. I would talk to my peer about the sacrifices my family and I had to make to go to college. Therefore, one day I will be able to pay them back for everything, I will be able to give them the wants they put aside.

My name is Anna Valeria Hernandez Perez, and I am a proud first-generation college student in my Hispanic family. I have one older sister Mary Lou (35), two older brothers Juan Carlos (31)and Giovanni (24). My parents are initially from Durango, Mexico, and Monterrey, Mexico. My parents and oldest brother migrated to Flagstaff, Arizona, in the year 1994 in pursuit of the American dream. They hoped to give their child and future children a better life then they had growing up. Attending college has been a dream for my parents and I. Being the first-generation college student in my family has set the standard pretty high for further generations. Growing up, I did not have to easiest childhood. Being that my parents came from Mexico, Spanish was the only language they knew. Therefore, being the first language, I knew before I started going to school. Once I did start going to school, it was hard to adjust. Between the grades of kindergarten and second grade I did not have many friends. I am now a bilingual hispanic and am planning to learn other languages to be able to help other who are in the position I was, having limited connections due to language barriers. Growing up my parents had to work two jobs in order to keep a roof over our heads, foods on the table, and to make ends meet. Although, my parents tried to hide their worries and tiredness as I got older I realized what was going on. I realized that most of the jobs they worked, their employers would under pay them because to them, the employers, they were doing them, my parents and many others, a favor. However, to my parents that was their livelihood, the only way to keep the lights on. From there on out I promised myself I would make it to college and one day provide them with everything they wanted because for us, their kids, they put their wants aside for our needs. I plan on graduating with a bachlor's degree in Business Management. With my degree I plan to work hard and be able to open my own business where I will have the ability to hire those have limited access to jobs due to their background or language barriers. My business will give them the ability to have to opportunity in thrive, achieve their dreams and accomplish their goals. My future business will make a positive impact on the world by showing others that even those who can not speak the same language can have the same as or more skills than us to get the job done. Making an impact on equal pay for everyone regardless of where they come from or the language they speak. My business will allow them access to resources available to expand on their English vocabulary.

An act of service that I have provided for since I can remember is being a translator. Growing up in a Hispanic household I learned basic medical terms at a young age. I am the translator for my Spanish-speaking parents when it comes to doctor visits and even beyond that. My mother started getting kidney stones when I was 10. That is where my knowledge of medical terms furthered. My parents are from small parts of Mexico and the way things were explained to them did not make sense, that is where I came in. My Spanish was choppy but so was theirs and that is how they were able to understand what was going on and what was next. Although, seeing my parents in hospital beds was hard but it helped me mature and grow up to help others like them. Being able to have this ability to be bilingual, help those that feel useless is life-changing and will provide oneself with inside knowledge others will not experience.

It is not just about listening to the other person but understanding what they are talking about. It is essential to understand before being understood. This means that by entering any discussion with empathy, trust, and logic, you can remove the need to be understood first and truly listen to the words and intent of the other person. This looks like making eye contact, being present in the conversation, and taking time to reflect to form a response instead of a reaction. By making eye contact, you will be genuinely engaged in the conversation. Asking for clarification on what someone is saying and reflecting them their understanding is an effective way to listen to understand. These skills will give the speaker affirmation that you know what they are saying. Listening to me means you are engaged in the conversation, you will be involved, and you genuinely care about the topic.

The goal I have for my personal life is to become my boss. I have also worked for someone else, working the hours they want and in a field where being treated horribly should be expected. I have worked in the food industry since I was 14; I am now 21. Becoming my boss and owning my own business will not only allow me to work for myself but also have the ability to work around family events and important dates that I would not have been able to take off unless I provided two weeks notice, and even then it was a 50/50 chance I would be given those days off. Becoming my boss will allow me freedom and unlimited growth opportunities, which would not be accomplished if I worked for someone else, especially in the food industry. This primary life goal will fulfill the lifestyle I dreamed of living.

The incarceration of my father impacted my life and the way I viewed my future tremendously. I was only ten years old when I came back from Mexico to my father not being home. The strange emptiness feeling it felt walking into my home. The look on my mother's face when she sat my older brother and me down, I just knew it wasn't good. He was arrested the night before because of a misunderstanding, however, he was arrested because of the language barrier between him and the officers and because the officers did not want to go to the extra mile to get an interpreter. Having to see my father behind a plastic glass, not hug him, or even tell him about our time away without having a limited time. At the age of 10, I realized what it meant to have undocumented loved ones. I realized the fear they felt as they went to work everyday or even walked down the street. The incarceration of my father impacted my education by understanding what the teachers taught, however they made undocumented immigrants out to be bad people. It impacted my education by standing up for my loved ones and those of whom were scared to speak up. The things I stood up for were not bad or a threat to others, they were just things that people with different beliefs were imitated by. My school teachers did not realize the things they said affected the myself and other Hispanic students. Having my father incarcerated created a new vision towards my goals. The vision of hope for others that are not able to reach it. My father worked two full time jobs, getting paid under minimum wage but that was not a problem to them. The reason is Hispanics or other immigrants coming to live the American dream do the jobs U.S. citizens would not do because in their words, "they do not get paid enough". From that day on, I promised my parents and myself I was going to work hard everyday in order to reach I high potential and be able to show and dedicate my hard work to them. The sacrifices they made were worth it.

I will break the standard chain. I will be the first of a new generation change. I come from a low-class family, and being the first in my family is not only an accomplishment but a chain breaker. I believe I can break the chain for future generations in my family; I can set the standard of graduating high school and raise the standard to get a higher education. I pushed myself past the limit in high school to receive financial help to be able to go to college. The areas I have excelled in because of my motivation to receive a higher education are mental development, emotion control, and life purpose. I have excelled in the area of mental development by being able to self-study and how that would be of success in my career development and spirituality. I am able to harness the power of emotions and use them to greatly amplify the efforts I am taking towards our goals, using emotion control. The area I believe has greatly excelled for the purpose of apply for a higher education is my life's purpose. My life's purpose is to bringing a value into the world, for me this would be my knowledge and contribution of maximizing to life. Not only am I a future first-generation graduate, but I am also a Hispanic first-generation graduate. Only about 20% of Latinos in the United States attend and graduate college after high school. This is because households need the extra income, which leads the high school graduates to dive into the working field instead of attending college. Another reason is because they can not afford a four year college tuition. Therefore, leading them to the possibility of attending a community college which can require more effort to be involved. To many, going to college is just another step to growing up and adulting, but for the Hispanic community, it is a luxury. It is a considerable effort a family has to make to send their loved ones to college. This is at the expense of sacrificing one thing in their budgets to be able to give their family member a chance at a better life, or as many say to be able to live the American dream. I am currently majoring in business management at Grand Canyon University, with the expected the graduating year of 2024. Once I graduate, my goal is to open my own business in the beauty industry and the retail industry. I want to open a business in the beauty industry because it might be a luxury to some but a necessity to others, and this way, I can provide that service. Being in the beauty industry with a different target goal like mine can be a difficult business choice. However, this target goal can benefit me as much as others. My goal is to give that sense of motivation to those looking to get a job by giving a haircut, giving children a smile by giving them a new style or giving a new mother reassurance of her beauty with a spa day. This shall always be at an affordable cost. It should not have to cost an arm and a leg to feel good about one's self. My goal in the retail industry has the same goal: to give back to the community. For example, I am supplying affordable school clothes for students and those who need that little push to keep going. Growing up, I rarely got to experience the emotion of going back to school shopping, getting new clothes, or being excited to show off my new shoes on the first day of school. I was given hand-me-downs from older family members because my parents, even with full-time jobs, could not handle that expense. I am looking to accomplish a better future for myself and those who will impact my career. A change I am looking to accomplish both in my field and for myself is the sense of relief. My whole life, I have been on go mode. If I was not at school, I was working and vise versa. That is something I am looking to change. To be in charge for once, of my own time, and not have to live paycheck by paycheck to fulfill this thing we call life. I am looking to learn for those experienced in my field to get a genuine sense of what it is to be in the business world. As stated before, the most significant change I am looking to accomplish is to break the generational family chain. To be the one whom future generations want to look up to for motivation, to be the one who changes the mindset of having to work a regular job into working a career one is passionate about. I am willing to be in debt to overcome that standard. The debt can be paid, but the wisdom and knowledge given by higher education can last a lifetime.