Islanders will compete in today's challenge called "X's and O's"! How "X's and O" 's will work is islanders will compete against each other in their current couples. The top two couples will get the chance to go on a date outside the villa! The challenge will be very similar to the game Tic Tac Toe where the goal is to get 3 in a row and clear the board before your opponent. Islanders will be greeted with a giant screen (similar to the screens used for family virtual calls) filled with squares (3 across, 3 down). Each square will have someone from a past Love Island seasons reading a question based on past Loved Island trivia from all seasons of Love Island USA. The questions will be formatted as true or false questions, yes or no, or multiple choice. To start the game, one couple will pick any square of their choice. If the couple gets the answer correct, they will get to place either an X or an O in the square they picked. But, if the couple gets the answer wrong, then the other team will get that square and be closer to clearing the board with three in a row! This will be a fun and exciting challenge for the couples in the villa and the fans back at home! It's always fun when the audience can play along or guess the answers to challenges and will be a great way of promoting past seasons for new fans who may not recognize the iconic Love Island stars in the squares reading the questions aloud. This is also a great way of including Love Island Alumni while saving money on plane tickets to Fiji.

As a first-generation, low-income, queer Latina graduate student, I have been the one to break the generational curse and lead my family to a better future. I successfully navigated the higher education system on my own with the support of student support learning programs and campus resources. I have changed the expectations for my family regarding higher education. I supported my two younger sisters with their entire education, from tutoring them in elementary school to supporting them with filling out transfer forms to apply to four-year universities. Although I never had much academic support or resources when I was younger, I want to be the person I needed when I was younger to get the support, encouragement, and tools to be successful no matter my background. This scholarship will tremendously support me financially, academically, and mentally. Although I qualify for financial aid, my graduate program unfortunately does not offer much financial support, so I am relying on my savings and applying for scholarships. With this scholarship, I can devote more time to my studies instead of putting that time and effort into work and struggling to pay tuition. During my undergraduate years, I was working three jobs. Not just to pay my tuition but to support my mom with bills and groceries for her and my two younger sisters. I was trying to balance being a full-time student, helping my family, and working over forty hours a week to keep afloat. This impacted my well-being heavily, affecting my mental and physical health. I promised myself that if I got into graduate school, I would prioritize myself and my studies. I plan on attending school full-time while working full-time at my current job as a Community College Success Fellow with 10,000 Degrees, a non-profit scholarship program for first-generation, low-income students in the Bay Area. Having the opportunity to be awarded this scholarship will ease the financial burden of tuition and will allow me to use my time with my studies and self-care to be the best me I can be for myself, my peers, and the students on my caseload. Now that I have recently been accepted into San Jose State University’s Guidance and Counseling program, I am focused on putting my total effort into the program and benefiting from the hands-on experience. My passion is to support youth in the education setting, specifically at-risk youth. Growing up, I never fully felt comfortable in school. I attended low-income public schools from kindergarten to high school with few resources and support programs for first-generation, low-income students. My goal is to support as many first-generation, low-income students of color get the tools, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential and follow their higher education dreams. I want to ensure all students feel safe and have a sense of belonging and purpose. I dream of being a director or counselor in a student support program. I am passionate about supporting students with similar struggles and backgrounds.

As a first-generation, low-income, queer Latina student, adjusting to my first year in college and navigating the higher education setting seemed impossible at times. My parents dropped out of high school their senior year when they found out they were pregnant with me, so my academic support was minimal. I would have struggled immensely if I hadn’t had access to first-generation programs and student support resources. Fortunately, I have a mentor within the education opportunity program (EOP), great first-generation counselors, and access to tools and resources to help me reach my full potential. Exposure to career fairs, financial workshops, and grad school support benefited me by helping me navigate the higher education setting confidently as a first-generation student. My passion is to support youth in the education setting, specifically at-risk youth. Growing up, I never fully felt comfortable in school. I attended low-income public schools from kindergarten to high school with very limited resources and support programs for first-generation, low-income students. My goal is to support as many first-generation, low-income students of color get the tools, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential and follow their higher education dreams. I want to ensure all students feel safe and have a sense of belonging and purpose. I dream of being a director or counselor in a student support program. I am passionate about supporting students with similar struggles and backgrounds. Now that I have recently been accepted into San Jose State University’s Guidance and Counseling program, I am focused on putting my total effort into the program and benefiting from the hands-on experience. My passion is to support youth in the education setting, specifically at-risk youth. Growing up, I never fully felt comfortable in school. I attended low-income public schools from kindergarten to high school with few resources and support programs for first-generation, low-income students, especially those who identify as someone in the lgbtq+ community. I truly felt safe and seen in a school setting once I enrolled in college, where I found my school's diversity center. My goal is to support as many first-generation, low-income, lgbtq+ students of color get the tools, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential and follow their higher education dreams. I want to ensure all students feel safe and have a sense of belonging and purpose. I dream of being a director or counselor in a student support program. I am passionate about supporting students with similar struggles and backgrounds.

As a first-generation, low-income, queer Latina student, I imagined the problems I would encounter when starting college would be financial issues or passing classes. Surprisingly, balancing my studies and mental health while being a full-time student and working full-time was the biggest challenge. During my undergraduate years, I was working three jobs. Not just to pay my tuition but to support my mom, who was struggling with addiction, and support my two younger sisters. I was trying to balance being a full-time student, helping my family, and working over forty hours a week to keep afloat. This impacted my well-being heavily, affecting my mental and physical health. During the summer of my junior year, I collapsed at work and was in the hospital for two weeks due to not taking care of my mental and physical state. I promised myself that if I got into graduate school, I would prioritize myself by focusing on my mental health, taking my medicine, attending therapy, and setting a routine to keep me on track with my schedule and studies. Now that I have recently been accepted into San Jose State University’s Guidance and Counseling program, I am focused on putting my total effort into the program and benefiting from the hands-on experience. My passion is to support youth in the education setting, specifically at-risk youth. Growing up, I never fully felt comfortable in school. I attended low-income public schools from kindergarten to high school with few resources and support programs for first-generation, low-income students, especially those who identify as someone in the lgbtq+ community. I truly felt safe and seen in a school setting once I enrolled in college, where I found my school's diversity center. My goal is to support as many first-generation, low-income, lgbtq+ students of color get the tools, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential and follow their higher education dreams. I want to ensure all students feel safe and have a sense of belonging and purpose. I dream of being a director or counselor in a student support program. I am passionate about supporting students with similar struggles and backgrounds. Growing up, I never fully felt comfortable in school. I attended low-income public schools from kindergarten to high school with few resources and support programs for first-generation, low-income students. My goal is to support as many first-generation, low-income, queer students of color get the tools, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential and follow their higher education dreams without stressing about navigating the higher education setting independently. Unfortunately, many low-income, first-generation queer students put so much pressure on themselves that it is easy to lose track of themselves, especially your mental health. I want to ensure all students feel safe and have a sense of belonging and purpose. I dream of being a director or counselor in a student support program. I am passionate about supporting students with similar struggles and backgrounds.