Since I was a little girl, my family always instilled 2 things in me: education and faith. Faith can help you get through anything, no matter how small or big, serious or trivial. Education can help you find success in life. On both my maternal and paternal side of the family I am the first family member to go to college, the first to earn a degree. On my dad's side of the family, I am a first generation American as well. My family usually stays in the lower middle class to lower class range, which is almost a textbook statistic for a Black family where no one went to college and is from the southern United States. My parents were passionate about being care providers in nursing homes and home health aides. These are selfless jobs that put others first, but it also means that economically they were put last. I am fortunate that my passions align with a college education and a stable income. They haven't always led me to public health, but they've always led me to school. I wanted to be a nurse practitioner, then a nurse practitioner and an epidemiologist, and now I'm in school for epidemiology and environmental health. My family might not know it, but they are big inspirations for these aspirations. I wanted to be a nurse because I realized there's nobody in my family living without a chronic health condition, whether it's physical or psychological. As my education continued, I understood perfectly. My mom's southern family moved to D.C. at the same time my dad immigrated to D.C. Neither one of them had a degree or wanted one, but they had a dream of a better life for their families. Both sides of the family are predisposed to chronic conditions because of being Black, not having a college degree, epigenetics, stress, and living near environmental hazards. My family is riddled with asthma, diabetes, migraines, obesity, reproductive issues, depression, and anxiety. As a nurse I thought, I could treat others with these conditions and better educate my loved ones as well. I could even prevent these things for future generations. As my public health knowledge grew, I recognized that we are results of the system we live in. Every single social determinant of health has contributed to why we are the way that we are. My motivation turned from treating the consequences of living in a system built against helping us to thrive, to changing the system. It would be so much better to prevent a wound than to treat a wound, and I want to prevent more families like mine- and not like mine- from dealing with health outcomes that are avoidable. Getting to this point wasn't easy at all. Because no one in my family went to college, I didn't have anyone at home to give me advice. Everything I learned about college is what they learned, through me. I knew this was going to be a disadvantage to me in the long run if I didn't do anything about it. Since high school I've been close to guidance counselors, career advisors, teachers, professors, and mentors. I am still in contact with every person that's helped me along my journey since then as well. As long as I stay passionate about what I learn and stay connected to the right people, my future will continue to look successful. If I'm successful, then so is my family.