My parents and I are from San Marcos Guatemala. My parents came to the United States in 2003 and 5 years later I arrived in Los Angeles.. Being from another country has vastly affected my academic experience because I don't have the same resources as other people in the U.S. Both of my parents had to work multiple jobs in order for my brother and I to attend school, have a roof over our heads and have something to eat every day. I graduated high school in June of 2019. Right after graduating high school, I started working at a fast food location because my parents didn't have enough income to help me attend a 4-year university. Unfortunately, I didn't qualify to apply for FAFSA due to my immigration status. I wasn't informed about resources I could have obtained, so l decided to work to help my parents at home and save money to attend a community college. I recently started my first year of college in the summer of 2024 at Long Beach City College under the Medical Assisting Program. My goal is to become a registered nurse to help my community and my plan to accomplish this goal is to get my Associates Degree in Medical Assisting and gain some hands-on experience by working in a medical office or hospital. Not only will I be working as a medical assistant, I will also be on the road to obtain a Bachelor's Degree as a Registered Nurse and eventually work at Long Beach Children's Hospital. Because of all the obstacles that my parents and I had to face being born in a foreign country, I want to accomplish these goals to serve as an example to my community. A lot of people come to the US to live the American dream, but there very few resources to do so. This obstacle has greatly motivated me to prove that despite any challenges, with hard work and dedication, anyone can accomplish their goals. This scholarship can help me vastly in many ways in order for me to succeed in my career goals. It would really help me financially; I will be working 2 days part time and having this extra money can help me pay for gas, some food so that I can continue to go to college and accomplish some of my goals, including to get certified as a Medical Assistant.

My parents and my self are from San Marcos Guatemala. My parents came to the United States in 2003 and I came in 2008 in LA. Being from another country has vastly affected my academic experience because I did not have the same resources as other people in the United States. Both of my parents have had to work multiple jobs in order for my brother and I to attend school, have a roof over our head and have something to eat every day. Due to our immigration status, I was not able to get scholarships or grants and this made it hard for me to apply to 4-year universities. When I got to my senior year of high school, I decided to plan how I would attend college and how to pay for it. I graduated high school in June 2019 and right after graduating high school, I started working at a fast food location because my parents did nott have enough income to help me to attend a 4-year university. Unfortunately, I did not qualify to apply for FAFSA due to my immigration status and I was not informed about resources that I could have possibly obtained, so I decided to work to help my parents at home and to save money to attend at least a community college. I recently started my first year of college in summer 2024 at Long Beach City College in the Medical Assisting program. My goal is to become a registered nurse to help my community and my plan to accomplish this goal is to get my associates in Medical Assisting and start working in a medical office for some experience. As I am working as a medical assistant, I will be working on my bachelor's degree as a registered nurse to work at Long Beach Children's Hospital. Due to barriers because my parents and I were born in a foreign country, I want to accomplish these goals to serve as an example to my community. Fortunately, I am a DACA recipient and I have received some resources to attend college and help me pay for it. I put time and effort to search for these resources because I want to be able to prosper in this country and give back to my community through medicine. Being from a foreign country has greatly motivated me to prove that despite any challenges, with hard work and dedication, everyone can conquer their goals.