I am a proud daughter of undocumented, hard working, parents. I will become a first generation graduate and the first one in my family to go to college. I was always aware of the difficulties my family had, especially what my parents went through to get to where they are now. One of the biggest problems we had was the language barrier. In Colorado, they didn't have translators in their workplace or provided them for us. Since I remember I have been translating meetings, phone calls, letters and many other things to my parents and I love it because I felt like I was giving back to them after they gave me and my siblings everything they could give us. I'm determined to make a good impact in my Hispanic community especially in Yakima where the majority of the population is Latino. I love the feeling of helping somebody with the same struggles my parents had. That's why I want to become a Registered Nurse, I want to have that one and one connection with my patients and not need a translator. I've already taken a step in being certified as bilingual by taking my seal of biliteracy in my sophomore year of high school. I want to help my community feel understood and comfortable in times of need, so they could receive the best quality care and understand every step of the progress of their care. I won't stop my career there though, my goal is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner so I could make an even bigger impact not just in the Latino community but in the whole Yakima Valley. My goal is increasing my knowledge in bilingual medical terms so there is no misinformation between me and my patients. I want new parents to be aware that I'm taking care of them and to be heard in their own native language so they feel comfortable enough to ask me questions and let me support them, especially when their newborns are in critical care. I want to be that support system that they can trust on and feel open to in times of crisis. In health care approximately 25.1 million individuals are in the US that can't read, write, or speak English according to the national community reinvestment coalition. I want to lower those numbers and encourage others to do the same. I want to earn my BSN degree and then in the future my MSN degree to continue to help my family and the Latino community and to increase my knowledge in Spanish medical terms even though Spanish is my native language.

I am not ashamed of who I am and where I came from, Im the first born and the only daughter of undocumented, hard working, immigrants . I will become a first generation graduate and the first one in my family to go to college. I was always aware of the difficulties my family had, especially what my parents went through to get to where they are now. One of the biggest problems we had was the language barrier. I was sent into preschool without knowing not one word in English and as soon as I learned what I could I started to translate for my parents. In Colorado where we were at the time, they didn't have translators in their workplace or provided them for us. Since I remember I have been translating meetings, phone calls, letters and many other things to my parents and I love it because I felt like I was giving back to them after they gave me and my siblings everything they could give us. I'm determined to make a good impact in my Hispanic community especially in Yakima where the majority of the population is Latino. I love the feeling of helping somebody with the same struggles my parents had. That's why I want to become a Registered Nurse, I want to have that one and one connection with my patients and not need a translator. I've already taken a step in being certified as bilingual by taking my seal of biliteracy in my sophomore year of High school. I want to help my community feel understood and comfortable in times of need, so they could receive the best quality care and understand every step of the progress of their care. Even right now I am a CNA and work in an assisted living where I talk to my residents in Spanish so they can feel even more comfortable and understood without them trying to find the worlds to tell me what they need help in. I won't stop my career there though, my goal is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner so I could make an even bigger impact not just in the Latino community but in the whole Yakima Valley. My goal is increasing my knowledge in bilingual medical terms so there is no misinformation between me and my patients. I want new parents to be aware that I'm taking care of them and to be heard in their own native language so they feel comfortable enough to ask me questions and let me support them, especially when their newborns are in critical care. I want to be that support system that they can trust on and feel open to in times of crisis. In health care approximately 25.1 million individuals are in the US that can't read, write, or speak English according to the national community reinvestment coalition. I want to lower those numbers and encourage others to do the same. I want to earn my BSN degree and then in the future my MSN degree to continue to help my family and the Latino community and to increase my knowledge in Spanish medical terms even though Spanish is my native language. My parents and the situation we live in day by day is what shaped me to the person I am today and wanting to help my community because I seen first hand how it like and the frustration I see in their faces when no one seems to understand them. I want to be the bridge and help them when they are in my care like if they were my parents.

I am the daughter of undocumented agriculture workers that work through all of the four seasons nonstop to make a living for me and my 2 brothers. Being the oldest I had a lot of responsibility growing up and releasing what is going on in my community at a young age. Which also means I'm going to be a first generation in my family to go to college. One of the biggest problems we had was the language barrier. In Colorado, they didn't have translators in their workplace or provided them for us. Since I remember I have been translating meetings, phone calls, letters and many other things to my parents and I love it because I felt like I was giving back to them after they gave me and my siblings everything they could give us. I'm determined to make a good impact in my Hispanic community especially in Yakima where the majority of the population is Latino. I love the feeling of helping somebody with the same struggles my parents had. That's why I want to become a Registered Nurse, I want to have that one and one connection with my patients and not need a translator. I've already taken a step in being certified as bilingual by taking my seal of biliteracy in my sophomore year of high school. I want to help my community feel understood and comfortable in times of need, so they could receive the best quality care and understand every step of the progress of their care. I won't stop my career there though, my goal is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner so I could make an even bigger impact not just in the Latino community but in the whole Yakima Valley. My goal is increasing my knowledge in bilingual medical terms so there is no misinformation between me and my patients. I want new parents to be aware that I'm taking care of them and to be heard in their own native language so they feel comfortable enough to ask me questions and let me support them, especially when their newborns are in critical care. I want to be that support system that they can trust on and feel open to in times of crisis. In health care approximately 25.1 million individuals are in the US that can't read, write, or speak English according to the national community reinvestment coalition. I want to lower those numbers and encourage others to do the same. I want to earn my BSN degree and then in the future my MSN degree to continue to help my family and the Latino community and to increase my knowledge in Spanish medical terms even though Spanish is my native language.

I am a proud daughter of undocumented, hard working, parents. I will become a first generation graduate and the first one in my family to go to college. I was always aware of the difficulties my family had, especially what my parents went through to get to where they are now. One of the biggest problems we had was the language barrier. In Colorado, they didn't have translators in their workplace or provided them for us. Since I remember I have been translating meetings, phone calls, letters and many other things to my parents and I love it because I felt like I was giving back to them after they gave me and my siblings everything they could give us. I'm determined to make a good impact in my Hispanic community especially in Yakima where the majority of the population is Latino. I love the feeling of helping somebody with the same struggles my parents had. That's why I want to become a Registered Nurse, I want to have that one and one connection with my patients and not need a translator. I've already taken a step in being certified as bilingual by taking my seal of Biliteracy in my sophomore year of Highschool. I want to help my community feel understood and comfortable in times of need, so they could receive the best quality care and understand every step of the progress of their care. I won't stop my career there though, my goal is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner so I could make an even bigger impact not just in the latino community but in the whole Yakima Valley. My goal is increasing my knowledge in bilingual medical terms so there is no misinformation between me and my patients. I want new parents to be aware that I'm taking care of them and to be heard in their own native language so they feel comfortable enough to ask me questions and let me support them, especially when their newborns are in critical care. I want to be that support system that they can trust on and feel open to in times of crisis. In health care approximately 25.1 million individuals are in the US that can't read, write, or speak English according to the national community reinvestment coalition. I want to lower those numbers and encourage others to do the same. I want to earn my BSN degree and then in the future my MSN degree to continue to help my family and the latino community and to increase my knowledge in spanish medical terms even though spanish is my native language.