Story: My name is Balentino Soto Gonzalez. I was born here in Colorado Springs and have lived here all of my life. Growing up I was always very creative and a hands-on kid. I loved building, drawing and just being artistic in general. To this day I'm still that way and love working on little projects at home whether that's working on my dad's truck or simply working on a painting at home. I work construction with my dad which grows my love for creativity and hands-on projects. I started working with him at the age of 14 and since then I've learned what it takes to be a construction worker and thrive in that area. When asked by others, "What do you want to do after high school?" I tell them that I want to be an automotive engineer. I've always loved cars and the idea of working on them in every way possible whether it's technical or mechanical. I believe I have what it takes to become an automotive engineer because I have the hunger and knowledge to be one. Hunger is the most important thing in my opinion because with hunger you can do anything. You can learn a new skill or learn new facts about something. After High School I will be an automotive engineer. I plan on starting at a community college for two years and then transferring to a university where I will then be taught more specifically on my career and apply to many internships to further educate myself and start gaining experience. Now with anything new, there's challenges, but again, with hunger anything is possible. Challenge: Freshman year I broke my leg causing me to miss a lot of school. I struggled a lot with keeping my grades up but that year I realized that grades don't define who I am. Instead, having the ability to understand what I learn in classes is what really mattered because it showed how determined I was to grow my knowledge. I recovered what I didn't learn Freshman year, sophomore year and started getting back on track to having better grades. Although my GPA wasn't the best, I still tried my hardest to understand what was being taught in all of my classes. I focused on not only studying my notes back at home but understanding more and learning by myself. For instance, if I didn't understand a certain unit in algebra II, I searched up videos at home on ways to learn the curriculum easier and understand it more. Not only that but I also participated in tutoring outside of school to be more one-on-one with teachers, thus proving how determined I was to really grow my knowledge. All in all, my courage and determination to grow is what got me through High School, and it's what I know will get me through college as well.