My dream future self is a person who has an immigration law degree and a master's in clinical social work so that I am able to help the communities that are often overlooked and mistreated.

This past year there have been a lot of changes. My family moved states and I started college 13 hours away from my new home. I knew that I wanted to explore the new campus that would occupy my time for the next 4 years, but I didn't want to take on any major responsibilities as I was still getting acclimated to a new environment. A couple of weeks into the first semester, I was offered a leadership position for a club mentoring youth. You were paired one on one with a student and worked with them throughout the semester on character building, STEM projects, and reading and writing skills. These kids often came from immigrant families and had an unstable homes so being dependable and patient was of utmost importance. I wasn't sure that I would be able to give the program the time it deserved, and I was scared to fail as a leader as I was not previously involved with that program and didn't have a clue how to start running it from scratch. Even though I was reluctant, when my pastor followed up with me a week later saying that there were no other options for leaders, I took the leap. Being able to lead and serve this underprivileged community was the best decision of my life. Each week I wrote and carried out lesson plans with the help of my volunteers. I paired them one on one with students and got to see how each child grew each and every session. While this job was not without its challenges, it was and is something that I will continue being a part of throughout my college career. Although my schedule this year does not allow for me to lead the program, it impacted me enough that I am still finding ways to give back to that community. I am still a part of the program as a volunteer, but I have also shifted into grant writing for the programs to raise funding as well as doing office work, helping assist in ESL (English as a Second Language) night classes for the parents, and visiting the day laborers of the community and supplying food and personal supplies. Being a part of this program and helping the kids has solidified to me that children are our future and we need to invest in them as much as possible. I loved seeing them develop and have opinions on life issues and offer unique solutions to small issues at home and big problems in the world. I have gained a new wider perspective on life and have added a Spanish minor so that I am able to reach and help a wider audience in my future profession.

I live boldly in many ways, but they all wrap up into one word: moving. Moving out of my home state, moving out of my home country, moving out of my language box and learning new ones, and moving forward in all aspects of life. In my 19 years of life, I have lived in 10 houses, 3 states, and 2 countries including the United States. In each scenario, I had to live boldly in reaching out and making new friends, getting settled in an unfamiliar place, and in some cases adapting to a different culture or language. In my junior year of high school, I was accepted into the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. I studied abroad for a year, immersing myself in german culture and language. I did not know any German before arriving and had to take all of my classes in a language I did not yet understand. I forced myself to leave English out of my head, and be brave in trying to speak solely in German. One in four exchange students will have to switch host families. I did not think that I would be a statistic but I ended up having to leave my host family abruptly after 2 months of living with them. I had to be bold and brave in living in a place where I was unsure of my future there. Ever since returning, I have lived my life boldly by choosing a university far from home, taking classes that pushed my limits, and involving myself in clubs and doing things where I did not know anyone.