One dime, ten cents. This minuscule amount initiated my family's journey to the United States. My grandmother, a native Nigerian, instilled within her lineage the values of hard work and tenacity. Despite the love she had for her homeland, she envisioned a brighter future in the U.S., a place teeming with growth opportunities. Winning the visa lottery was her golden ticket, and armed with unwavering determination and meager finances, she made the journey, leaving her three children, including my mother, behind in Nigeria. Upon arriving, she traded her engineering and architectural skills for a career in social work, as her credentials didn't mirror the U.S. standards. Yet, she never let this setback quench her spirit. Her heart ached for her children, and she yearned to bring them over. And eventually, destiny reciprocated her grit. When my mother won the visa lottery, my grandmother was at the brink of affording the visa application fee, lacking only seven cents. Serendipity played its part when she stumbled upon a dime, a humble but potent symbol of her struggle and hopes, which eventually paved the way for my mother’s arrival and my subsequent birth in New York City. Growing up, my grandmother's stories of Nigeria and her journey have greatly shaped my perspective on life and education. The tales of her navigating her way through cultural shock, language barriers, and professional hardships while maintaining an iron-clad resolve, have ingrained in me an insatiable hunger for knowledge and an indomitable spirit. The challenges I've faced in my academic journey pale in comparison to her struggles, yet her story has taught me that no obstacle is insurmountable, and with determination and grit, I can achieve the things that my hard work deserves.