Growing up as a low-income, first-generation Mexican American in the foster care system to being a fourth-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, the injustices I faced throughout my years have compelled me to want to be a catalyst for change and pursue a career as a public defender--a career in which I would resonate with individuals and ultimately help me absolve future generations of mistakes they may have made simply in being a product of their environment.

I've always told myself, that the day that I graduate from law school will be the day that I've made it. The day that I would no longer feel this intense weight engulfing my entire body. It will be the day that I can relax. Until that day, I plan to do everything in my power to ensure that goal is met. My future goal of becoming a lawyer stems from my experience as a child. Growing up in the foster care system, an institution that predestines its youth to fail, I hope to one day help children that have had a similar upbringing. My experience being a foster child shaped my future goals. It motivated me to want to make a change in the lives of those impacted by the system. I know what it feels like to be condemned to a life of struggles simply because of a lack of family guidance and mentorship, lower-quality education, and limited financial resources. I’ve experienced it first hand and it isn't a life anyone wants to live. This is the reason why, through my pursuit of education, I hope to become a criminal justice lawyer. I believe that in following this career, I will be able to help better my community by abolishing the foster care to prison pipeline one case at a time. I will be able to absolve future generations of mistakes they may have made simply as a result of being a product of their environment. I will be a living example that current and former foster youth will be able to not only look up to but resonate with. Every day, I work relentlessly to meet that goal. I will not stop until that goal is met.

Growing up in an institution that predestines its youth to fail, I hope to one day help children that have had a similar upbringing. Through my pursuit of education, I hope to become a criminal justice lawyer. I believe that in following this career, I will be able to help better my community by abolishing the foster care to prison pipeline one case at a time. I will be able to absolve future generations of mistakes they may have made simply as a result of being a product of their environment. I will be a living example that current and former foster youth will be able to not only look up to but resonate with. At the age of eight, I along with my two brothers were stripped from my mother's arms and placed into the foster care system. Being so young, away from everything I knew and everyone I loved, I remember feeling alone, confused, and scared. Despite eventually being reunited with my mother, nothing was ever the same again. Our once warm and loving relationship was quickly replaced by a relationship grounded in arguments—devoid of any love. Years passed and these feelings that I so vividly remember during my experience in the foster care system began to emerge during my adolescent years. I felt alone when I realized that I could only count on myself to reach whatever goal I set forth. I felt alone when I realized that I had to be my own motivation and support if I wished to go to college. I felt alone when I realized I had no one to celebrate with when I got accepted into UC Berkeley. This feeling of loneliness, however, was not unaccompanied. I remember I had I felt confused when I was expected to navigate the first years of college on my own. I was not prepared for such rigorous courses. I was not prepared to approach professors and ask for help. I did not know what office hours were. I felt scared when I saw the amount of debt I had gotten myself into by attending Berkeley. I had no idea how I was going to pay this money back. The feelings and fears that once haunted my childhood now consumed my every thought as an adult. The combination of all these feelings and obstacles resulted in my poor grades and mental health. With time, however, I was able to find Berkeley Hope Scholars, a program at UC Berkeley supporting all students who are current and former foster youth. It was here where I found everything I never had—guidance, support, mentorship, and a community to fall back on. It was because of Berkeley Hope Scholars that I am currently in my senior year of college with exceptional grades. My experience being a foster child impacted my educational goals in that it forced me to want to make a change in the lives of those impacted by the system. I know what it feels like to live a life of struggles because of a lack of family guidance and mentorship, lower-quality education, and limited financial resources. I’ve experienced it. I’ve also seen just how much success can come if given another opportunity and the proper resources to succeed. For a long time, I resented my past, today I embrace it. Receiving this scholarship would help reduce the financial burdens that currently plague me and allow me to further submerge myself in my studies, continue succeeding, and eventually reach my educational goal.