I was born to a mother who was held as a slave, forced to marry at 15, and deliver her first child at 16. Every step she took was controlled, every decision made for her. Her first real act of freedom was to leave that toxic relationship in Mexico and immigrate to the U.S. with her seven kids. I was lucky enough to be the eighth child, born in the U.S., but that came with its own challenge. I had no foundation to learn English. As none of my family members knew how to speak English, we all spoke Spanish. The language of the country I was born in was completely foreign to me. That was until 2nd grade, at age 8, everything changed. I'd been struggling to understand English up to that point, but with Mrs. Garcia's help and persistence, I learned to read, write, and eventually speak it. Many obstacles restricted me from further advancing in my academics. I had no one at home to ask for help with my English homework. Math was always easier for me than any other subject, especially English, as English was my second language, and math was this universal language that didn't involve English. I was always good at math; in fact, I was placed in the gifted and accelerated math program as early as it started, which was third grade at my school. My gifted teacher, Ms. Swaya, taught all the gifted students, teaching English and math. The gifted student had to go from the regular class to the gifted class. I was one of the only ones who were gifted in math but not English. Ms. Swaya acknowledged this and met with my parents and me, recognising my potential. I felt so behind and as if I could not get better at improving my English, as it was so difficult for me to grasp. Ms Swaya made me feel as if I could truly accelerate if I tried hard enough and put in the effort. She pushed me and helped me to accelerate in English. Growing up, I learned to be content and find joy in what I had. I didn't beg for fast food or ask for new clothes. I understood it would all be a waste of money we didn't have. My mom struggled to support us financially. We were always moving from one family member's basement to another's, trying to find a place where we could afford and call home. Even now, seeing my mom rise before dawn to prep for work, watching her push through exhaustion fuels me to push myself harder, learning more about financial markets and concentrating on school, because she never had the opportunity to. The passion for math and to better mine and my family's life drives me to succeed through college and action. I long not only to help my mom but also to make sure my family is well cared for. I will take advantage of every opportunity by attending college, because it's not just my opportunity, it's a dream my mom never knew existed. Quantitative traders require strong computational skills to develop, test, and execute data-driven trading strategies. Graduating with a mathematics degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I am committed to, will help me achieve my goal, as it requires a very robust background in math. Incorporating my passion for math with my interest in financial markets. Being bilingual opens doors to connecting with people. This Julie Holloway Bryant Memorial Scholarship will help me get one step closer to following and achieving my dream.

I decided to be the Special Olympics basketball manager at my high school. One of the reasons I decided to be a manager was that my nephew, Sammy, has special needs and joined the Special Olympics team. I have grown up with Sammy, and he is genuinely the funniest person I have ever met. He is the heart and life of the party, always making people laugh and have fun. Growing up with him, I also realised and saw how other people and other kids our age treated him just because of his condition. Other kids would point and laugh behind his back; they would take advantage of him, acting like they were his friends, but they weren't. I know how many kids with special needs are treated, and by becoming a manager, I could truly be friends with other students like him. I helped organize practices, stretches, and drills. I encouraged strong team unity involving everyone and built leadership. I helped encourage them when they didn't feel confident in their ability, hyping them up. I have been involved in many extracurricular activities, making lots of friends and building relationships through these activities. I play on the boys' varsity volleyball team, where I have built the strongest relationships that will last a lifetime. I have played with many of my teammates for four and three years now, building chemistry during those hour-long practices every day. I've played middle blocker, where I was the leading blocker of the line of defense at the net. I lead my pin hitters to time the block perfectly. Made split-second decisions as I read the setters. Apart from playing volleyball, I was also in Best Buddies, a club to build relationships by doing activities with kids with special needs. I was also on the Mock Trial team, where I portrayed a witness memorizing my persona front to back, having to respond quickly off the top of my head during cross-examinations. We would compete against other schools. We also went to the state for the Mock Trial. I was in the science club where I brought 70% of the active members. We did hands-on experiments. I explored various topics of science through experiments. I was also in the Key Club. I spent time voluntarily doing service hours for my community. Anything that the community needed help with, I was there setting up, cleaning, and helping.

“Kindness in Action” For the past two years, my “cousin” Alexa, who is actually my niece, and I have been the Special Olympics basketball managers at Addison Trail. One of the reasons we decided to be managers of the team was because my other “cousin”, Sammy, who is actually my nephew, has special needs and joined the Special Olympics team. I have grown up with Sammy, and he is genuinely the funniest person I have ever met. He is the heart and life of the party, always making people laugh and have fun. Growing up with him, I also realised and saw how other people and other kids our age treated him just because of his condition. Other kids would point and laugh behind his back; they would take advantage of him, acting like they were his friends, but they weren't. This is the other reason I wanted to be a manager. I know how many kids with special needs are treated, and by becoming a manager, I could truly be friends with other students like him. I helped organize practices, leading them in stretches and drills. I encouraged strong team unity involving everyone and built leadership. I helped encourage them when they didn't feel confident in their ability, in a game, hyping them up. It was a great time. “Creating Connection” During my four years at Addison Trail, I have been involved in many extracurricular activities, making lots of friends and building relationships through these activities. I play on the boys' varsity volleyball team, where I have built the strongest relationships that will last a lifetime. I have played with many of my teammates for four and three years now, building chemistry during those hour-long practices every day. I've played middle blocker, where I was the leading blocker of the line of defense at the net. I lead my pin hitters to time the block perfectly. Made split-second decisions as I read the setters. Apart from playing volleyball, I was also in Best Buddies, where I brought my younger nephew with special needs to meetings. At this club, I did activities with him and other kids with special needs. I was also on the Mock Trial team, where I portrayed a witness memorizing my persona front to back, being able to respond quickly off the top of my head during cross-examinations. We would compete against other schools. We also went to the state for the Mock Trial. I was in the science club where I brought 70% of the active members. We did hands-on experiments. I explored various topics of science through experiments. I was also in the Key Club. I spent time voluntarily doing service hours for my community. Anything that the community needed help with, I was there setting up, cleaning, and helping. I was also in the psych club, exploring how the human brain works and its behaviors, the chess club, Stuco, and the letterman's club. I love being involved in my community and building connections.

I was born to a mother who was held as a slave, forced to marry at 15, and deliver her first child at 16. Every step she took was controlled, every decision made for her. Her first real act of freedom was to leave that toxic relationship in Mexico and immigrate to the U.S. with her seven kids. I was lucky enough to be the eighth child, born in the U.S., but that came with its own challenge. I had no foundation to learn English. As none of my family members knew how to speak English, we all spoke Spanish. The language of the country I was born in was completely foreign to me. That was until 2nd grade, at age 8, everything changed. I'd been struggling to understand English up to that point, but with Mrs. Garcia's help and persistence, I learned to read, write, and eventually speak it. Many obstacles restricted me from further advancing in my academics. I had no one at home to ask for help with my English homework. Math was always easier for me than any other subject, especially English, as English was my second language, and math was this universal language that didn't involve English. I was always good at math; in fact, I was placed in the gifted and accelerated math program as early as it started, which was third grade at my school. My gifted teacher, Ms. Swaya, taught all the gifted students, teaching English and math. The gifted student had to go from the regular class to the gifted class. I was one of the only ones who were gifted in math but not English. Ms. Swaya acknowledged this and met with my parents and me, recognising my potential. I felt so behind and as if I could not get better at improving my English, as it was so difficult for me to grasp. Ms Swaya made me feel as if I could truly accelerate if I tried hard enough and put in the effort. She pushed me and helped me to accelerate in English. Growing up, I learned to be content and find joy in what I had. I didn't beg for fast food or ask for new clothes. I understood it would all be a waste of money we didn't have. My mom struggled to support us financially. We were always moving from one family member's basement to another's, trying to find a place where we could afford and call home. Even now, seeing my mom rise before dawn to prep for work, watching her push through exhaustion fuels me to push myself harder, learning more about financial markets and concentrating on school, because she never had the opportunity to. The passion for math and to better mine and my family's life drives me to succeed through college and action. I long not only to help my mom but also to make sure my family is well cared for. I will take advantage of every opportunity by attending college, because it's not just my opportunity, it's a dream my mom never knew existed. Quantitative traders require strong computational skills to develop, test, and execute trading strategies that rely on data analysis. Graduating with a mathematics degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I am committed to, will help me achieve my goal, as it requires a very robust background in math. It will combine my passion for math and financial markets. This New Beginnings Immigrant Scholarship will help me get one step closer to following and achieving my dream.