When I began looking into what career paths within the business, marketing had been most interesting to me, especially within social media. As we now live in a society where technology takes up most of our attention, especially as adolescents, what interested me most was the way companies market their businesses, products, and services through media and entertainment. When I began taking classes in high school, I was sure to take Principles of Marketing, where I researched and analyzed marketing strategies, which mostly consisted of social media. More specifically, within the class, I researched on how media and advertising have changed over time due to modern technology. While also having the ability to take these classes in school, I also had the opportunity to be a media intern for two different companies. During my sophomore year, I interned for Heart Hero, a medical device company where I analyzed their media patterns and helped predict what would be best for the company's media-wise, to increase engagement. More recently, during my senior year, I’m currently interning for a couple’s therapy company, The Love Coach, LLC. This allowed me to truly explore the realm of social media as I collaborated with the company in creating content and re-designing their website. Not only have these experiences allowed me to gain more knowledge within the world of social media, but it allowed me to gain a new perspective on how our world is changing through media and entertainment in hope of being able to pursue it as a career. I would consider my main goal and role in this industry would be become a role model for my community. My Latinx background has influenced my approach to media and entertainment due to the importance of representation. Representation not only accounts for a large percentage of people who identify as Latinx, Hispanic, Chicanx, and Indigenous but rather inspires those future generations to further their knowledge about their culture. Though there are many moments where the media isn’t so positive, it’s still important to be able to share events that affect our communities. From reposting on Instagram about Latino veterans or watching the movie Coco, the media opens doors, especially for younger audiences, to educate themselves about their culture. Though I grew up watching Disney Princess movies, I never could truly resonate with them because it was a fairytale I could never possibly relate to. However, when it came to watching Dora The Explorer, a memory that to this day stays as a core factor of my childhood and development as a person has impacted me more. Hence, showing the importance of having more diverse backgrounds within media and entertainment. Representation changes the way we view our world, our society, and our communities. Though it may be too late to change the minds of older generations, the technology that younger generations have access to allows us to spread knowledge and representation. Through the many media, we have such as books, radios, magazines, billboards, and much more, the feeling of being represented gives people the confidence to truly express themselves through the shift of more representation within digital marketing.

Being an active member of my community has always motivated me to always be open-minded when helping others. Whether it’s providing breakfast to homeless people in Mexico or tutoring students within my school, I’ve become more aware of what our society lacks when providing resources for those who need them through community service. I first started participating in community service in the summer of 2019, specifically with Jesus Principe de la Paz, a church I attended in Juarez, Mexico. All I was told was that we would serve breakfast at a homeless shelter. Little did I know, this was a homeless shelter that supported people with mental illness and disabilities. As I served orange juice and burritos to the residents, I saw young people happy to see us but clearly hungry. I saw an older woman who gave me advice about how to avoid ending up like her. To get to the church, we had to drive through homes made from rubble and cardboard. I had never realized how serious of an issue this was. From the residents ranging in ages from 20 to 60, I was exposed to the reality of how they lived, the struggles they’d been through, and the way they viewed society around them. I had visited my family in other parts of Mexico, but this time, I realized the lack of resources people with mental illness and disabilities have available to them, opening my eyes to why community service is so significant. While this experience was most influential to me and has altered the way I viewed society, even the simple job of tutoring students continues to inspire me to give back to my community. I co-lead Rising Ravens, a student-led tutoring service for BIPOC, minorities, low-income, and underrepresented students. While most of these community internalizes the idea they can't achieve higher education, I strive to help in bettering themselves in higher-level classes. I tutor in most common subjects such as math, English, and Spanish, since that's where most students seem to struggle in my school. Last week, I tutored a student in College Algebra. Though she finds it difficult to understand the teacher at times, she comes to tutoring every Thursday and asks for my assistance. The smile that forms on her face when she gets the correct answer fills me with joy as I can see the difference I can make in a person’s life. However, I'm still troubled by the fact that there is still a huge chunk of students who don't feel that they have the ability to succeed. Community service is what the world calls for and needs to value more as it allows dedicated, passionate, and underrepresented people, like myself, to call out for help and positive change. As an advocate for underrepresented communities, community service allows me to reflect on the small differences I make, which also allows me to contribute to the bigger difference I can make in the future.

Being an active member of my community has always motivated me to always be open-minded when helping others. Whether it’s providing breakfast to homeless people in Mexico or tutoring students within my school, I’ve become more aware of what our society lacks when providing resources for those who need them through community service. I first started participating in community service in the summer of 2019, specifically with Jesus Principe de la Paz, a church I attended in Mexico. All I was told was that we would serve breakfast at a homeless shelter. Little did I know, this was a homeless shelter that supported people with mental illness and disabilities. As I served orange juice and burritos to the residents, I saw young people happy to see us but clearly hungry. I saw an older woman who gave me advice about how to avoid ending up like her. I had never realized how serious of an issue this was. From the residents ranging in ages from 20 to 60, I was exposed to the reality of how they lived, the struggles they’d been through, and the way they viewed society around them. I had visited my family in other parts of Mexico, but this time, I realized the lack of resources people with mental illness and disabilities have available to them, opening my eyes to the significance of community service. Being the oldest Latina daughter of hard-working immigrant parents has taught me about the importance of dedication and hard work for any career I choose to pursue. As someone who aspires to go to college for a business degree is an incredible achievement to share with my Mexican family, but when mentioned to other peers, their reactions become hesitant. On one hand, this should make me doubt my abilities to succeed in business. However, this becomes another bump in the road that reminds me I can overcome those challenges and become an example for young Latinas who wish to pursue higher education. However, what still troubles me is that many underrepresented students have internalized this idea of not being able to succeed in higher education. Thus, I dedicate a lot of my time to co-leading and volunteering as a tutor through Rising Ravens. Rising Ravens is a student-led tutoring service for BIPOC, minorities, low-income, and underrepresented students. Though this club helps all who need support in their academic lives, my co-leader and I strived to make Rising Ravens as diverse as possible as its intended goal of reinstating. Though as difficult as it may sound to execute in a primarily white-dominated student population, this year we have thirty tutors with two-thirds of them being students of color. This is my second year being a tutor for Rising Ravens, where I primarily tutor in Math, English, Spanish, Physics, and Chicano Studies. Though it was difficult at first to change the way students of color perceive their future and ability to succeed in higher education, the impact of Rising Ravens has truly reflected itself within these students' academics. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference within my community and encourage other underrepresented students to gain confidence in their abilities to succeed in higher education. Community service is what the world calls for and needs to value more as it allows dedicated, passionate, and underrepresented people, like myself, to call out for help and positive change. As an advocate for underrepresented communities, community service allows me to reflect on the small differences I make, which also allows me to contribute to the bigger difference I can make through my future career.

Being an active member of my community has always motivated me to always be open-minded when helping others. Whether it’s providing breakfast to homeless people in Mexico or tutoring students within my school, I’ve become more aware of what our society lacks when providing resources for those who need them through community service. I first started participating in community service in the summer of 2019, specifically with Jesus Principe de la Paz, a church I attended in Mexico. All I was told was that we would serve breakfast at a homeless shelter. Little did I know, this was a homeless shelter that supported people with mental illness and disabilities. As I served orange juice and burritos to the residents, I saw young people happy to see us but clearly hungry. I saw an older woman who gave me advice about how to avoid ending up like her. I had never realized how serious of an issue this was. From the residents ranging in ages from 20 to 60, I was exposed to the reality of how they lived, the struggles they’d been through, and the way they viewed society around them. I had visited my family in other parts of Mexico, but this time, I realized the lack of resources people with mental illness and disabilities have available to them, opening my eyes to the significance of community service. Being the oldest Latina daughter of hard-working immigrant parents has taught me about the importance of dedication and hard work for any career I choose to pursue. As someone who aspires to go to college for a business degree is an incredible achievement to share with my Mexican family, but when mentioned to other peers, their reactions become hesitant. On one hand, this should make me doubt my abilities to succeed in business. However, this becomes another bump in the road that reminds me I can overcome those challenges and become an example for young Latinas who wish to pursue higher education. However, what still troubles me is that many underrepresented students have internalized this idea of not being able to succeed in higher education. Thus, I dedicate a lot of my time to co-leading and volunteering as a tutor through Rising Ravens. Rising Ravens is a student-led tutoring service for BIPOC, minorities, low-income, and underrepresented students. Though this club helps all who need support in their academic lives, my co-leader and I strived to make Rising Ravens as diverse as possible as its intended goal of reinstating. Though as difficult as it may sound to execute in a primarily white-dominated student population, this year we have thirty tutors with two-thirds of them being students of color. This is my second year being a tutor for Rising Ravens, where I primarily tutor in Math, English, Spanish, Physics, and Chicano Studies. Though it was difficult at first to change the way students of color perceive their future and ability to succeed in higher education, the impact of Rising Ravens has truly reflected itself within these students' academics. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference within my community and encourage other underrepresented students to gain confidence in their abilities to succeed in higher education. Community service is what the world calls for and needs to value more as it allows dedicated, passionate, and underrepresented people, like myself, to call out for help and positive change. As an advocate for underrepresented communities, community service allows me to reflect on the small differences I make, which also allows me to contribute to the bigger difference I can make through my future career.

High school, a place where meeting new people is a guarantee, is also the place where I experienced most of my anxiety. I have always had social anxiety whether it’s talking to strangers, asking for help, or even making friends. I would sit by myself in the front of the classroom as no one else seemed to sit there, I would rarely participate in class, and I would just focus on my academics. High school was my chance to spread my wings and to grow into myself, but even attending an overpopulated school of two thousand students, I still found it extremely challenging to make friends. As a Latina who goes to a predominantly white school in a wealthy neighborhood, I became an observer of the way we as students separated ourselves from each other. Being the introvert I am, I didn’t think much of my circumstances and continued to feel alone, forgotten, and as a background character to the “popular white kids'' high school experience. I admit it was hard branching out to new things especially knowing I could fail miserably multiple times and would be vulnerable the moment I stepped out of my comfort zone. Yet, I was motivated to reach out and make friends, even though it wasn’t my usual academic goal. It wasn’t until my junior year that I pushed myself to become more involved with my community. The first step I took was joining the Student Board of Education, a student-led class where you collaborate with students to create a policy proposal to solve an issue at the school. It was my starting point, a quiet girl placed in a class where it was essential to speak. Needless to say, my perspective of social life was altered. Now as a returning member of the class in my senior year, I’ve learned about many issues prevalent in my school. From learning about the demographic of students of color taking higher-level classes to restorative vs. punitive practices, to health curriculum changes, I have taken into account the lack of student voices at my school. A student's voice is a powerful tool every student has. The problem is whether or not students use their voices for good. I had a voice and the opportunity to make a change for not only myself but others in my community. The community of underrepresented, low-income, and minority students needed a voice to be heard, to be seen, and to feel represented. I took the chance of speaking up for those communities. Now I co-lead a student-led tutoring service for BIPOC, low-income, and other minority students, I collaborate with other schools to create policy proposals, and I run announcements for Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s mind-blowing the difference between my freshman self now compared to my senior self. I learned about the power of my voice and though now I regret not using it sooner within the classroom, I’m proud to be able to use it throughout my school to help others around me to make positive impacts within my communities. I've overcome my fear of speaking out for positive change and through this journey, I have met other determined, passionate, and ambitious students I'm happy to call my friends.

When I was exposed to the different career paths, business and entrepreneurship stuck out to me the most. As a first-generation student of immigrant parents, they had always told me to aim high, as I’m able to follow my dreams with hard work and dedication. So, like most first gens, I aimed high to the most lucrative careers, like doctors, architects, and for me, lawyers. Throughout my high school journey, I had taken multiple business classes such as Principles of Business, Principles to Marketing, Business Law, and now Accounting and Finance, and my idea of business has shifted. Marketing gained my interest, especially in social media. Marketing allows me to reach diverse industries, from finance to the arts to social justice issues. Since this new awakening, I have had the opportunity to do internships as a media intern for a medical and therapy company. Not only have these opportunities allowed me to gain more insight into business as a career but more importantly, I’ve incorporated the skills I learned into my daily life. From class presentations, discussions, and even life decisions, the skills I learned throughout my business journey have given me the ability to think ahead and succeed. In the simplest words, being the oldest Latina daughter of hard-working immigrant parents has taught me about the importance of dedication and hard work for any career I choose to pursue. Being Latina has also taught me the importance of representation. As someone who aspires to go to college for a business degree is an incredible achievement to share with my Mexican family, but when mentioned to other peers, their reactions become hesitant. On one hand, this should scare me and make me doubt my abilities to succeed in business. However, this becomes another bump in the road that reminds me I can overcome those challenges and become an example for young Latinas who wish to pursue higher education. However, what still troubles me is that many underrepresented students have internalized this idea of not being able to succeed in higher education. So, I dedicate a lot of my time to co-leading and volunteering as a student tutor through Rising Ravens. Rising Ravens is a student-led tutoring service that allows students of color, low-income, and other minorities to have access to resources to succeed in higher-level classes. It wasn’t until this year that I took the initiative to run the club as its co-leader. Though this club helps all who need support in their academic lives, my co-leader and I strived to make Rising Ravens as diverse as possible as its intended goal of reinstating. Last year, with only around eight tutors and only a couple being students of color, we challenged ourselves to continue expanding this number. Though as difficult as it may sound to execute in a primarily white-dominated student population, this year we have around thirty tutors with two-thirds of them being students of color. This is my second year being a tutor for Rising Ravens, where I primarily tutor in Math, English, Spanish, Physics, and Chicano Studies. Though it was difficult at first to change the way students of color perceive their future and ability to succeed in higher education, the impact of Rising Ravens has truly reflected itself within these students' academics. Though it may become difficult to your goals, especially in business, one must take up space to learn, take that knowledge to succeed and make your community proud to become a role model for those who also want to make positive impacts throughout underserved communities and our world through business.