As a first-generation Mexican American student at UC Berkeley, pursuing degrees in Integrative Biology and Forestry & Natural Resource Management, navigating college has been a challenging journey. I am breaking new ground for my family and I’ll admit that at first I struggled find the resources and connections that I needed to succeed. Nevertheless, my journey has been pivotal to my academic and professional development, pushing me out of my comfort zone. I learned that it’s all about taking the time to find people who can help me achieve my goals. Even if it’s only a small group of people. It’s about building connections and bridges to fulfill my inner child's dreams. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by nature and natural history. Watching PBS “Nature” documentaries deepened my understanding of the world's vastness and beauty, sparking a passion for biology that I now pursue as a career. More importantly, I came to believe in the critical role we play in preserving nature. This past summer, I witnessed the aftermath of the Dixie and Silver fires near UC Forestry Camp in Meadow Valley, CA. Seeing the burn scars that spanned nearly a million acres underscored the urgency of hands-on conservation efforts and aiding regeneration through robust forest management practices. This experience cemented my ambition to contribute to innovative and effective ecological silviculture models. At camp, I learned about the critical role of humans in the environment, as modeled by indigenous burning practices. Prior to colonization, many indigenous groups helped keep forests in a pristine state. We studied the importance of prescribed burning and creating moderate-sized gaps to promote species and spatial heterogeneity, enhancing forest health. This learning experience was coupled with studying common tree pathogens, identifying various species, and prescribing treatments based on current stand health and topographic features. This knowledge is essential for developing innovative ecological silviculture models. The knowledge I gained about these practices, coupled with my educational background and passion for science, makes me committed to advancing my career in this field. Recently, I learned about a groundbreaking reiteration of the Miller-Urey experiment by Juan Manuel García-Ruiz at the University of Granada, Spain. This experiment highlighted the role of silica and silicates in amino acid production and possibly the creation of life itself. It inspires me that even something as small as a grain of sand can have such a significant role in life as we know it. Discoveries like these fascinate me and fuel my desire for continuous learning in biology. I am eager to gain invaluable experience in formulating scientific inquiries, building my skillset, and applying what I've learned beyond the books. I am keen to learn from leading scientists and contribute to cutting-edge research projects. These experiences will equip me with the skills necessary to tackle real-world environmental challenges.

Social norms are a form of civil agreement between the people. When a single person violates it, most of the time it is up to the community to do something about it, whether it is to educate them or reprimand depending on the context. When it comes to online gaming, it has become a place where certain individuals have become comfortable enough to choose to not abide by the social norms. The internet after all and the fact that the person in question isn't directly physically accessible to other people who come across them in the midst of their violation creates the space for a new found "boldness". This boldness encourages the statement of things like racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and utterly degrading remarks. Which because it's on the internet ultimately go unchecked. When people speak to degrade another group of people and go unchecked it leads to an overall social decay. We become tolerant to hurtful ideologies and our actions flow from that. People may argue that the expression of these ideologies is a mere exercise of free speech. It can be argued in terms of legality for the fact that it may not incite criminal activity or threaten of violence. Freedom of speech is a good thing. But it brings to life the words of wisdom, that "everything may be licit, but not everything is beneficial". In the same way although such forms of discourse are in fact legal, it is not beneficial primarily because many people, especially minorities have been affected by things like these. The dismissal of hate speech and discriminatory actions led to injustice and disparity among the people. Not too long ago, people online were blaming the Chinese for the spread of covid-19 saying that they eat bats and that its their fault. Yes bats were the animals that originally had the virus, but we cannot act as if a whole ethnic group is now to blame for the lack sanitary measures in the U.S and other countries. After all, hateful ideologies can become a virus especially when they're based on some "rational idea". After all, white supremacists always believe they're in the right, primarily because their perception on life is based on history and the fact that the white man was the one who colonized and monopolized many areas of life. They equate their idea of being "successful" with being right. There's always some facts that they use as a basis for their arguments. For that reason it is of importance to call out any form of hate speech on gaming platforms. After all, the majority of people on these gaming platforms are children. Their minds are still developing and there's no better stage than now to correct those behaviors, as it is they who are the future. If you want to influence the future for the better, then influence the children. We are a new generation of people who will learn from the mistakes of the people of the past. We will not regress into an age of where descriminatory actions are just brushed under the rug. We must hold each other accountable in whatever area it may be that we are being insensitive.

High school for me has been a ground for character development. There I fought my hardest battles yet, I cried the most, loved the most, and pushed my limits physically, intellectually and emotionally like never before. I was born into an immigrant household where education is viewed as the only way to climb up the social ladder so it became a tool for me to do so. After all, we are a low income family in a small city by the name of Pittsburg, a city only known for gun violence, robberies, and its people with narrow visions about life. People who rarely look beyond just graduating high school and getting into the workforce. But in the midst of this my parents always motivated me to pursue higher education. As I saw my peers get into gun violence and drugs my parents became my cornerstone reminding me always to look beyond the current situation and to work harder for the future I envision. During my time in high school I enrolled in a total of 11 Ap classes and 3 honors courses. I studied hard oftentimes from the end of school at 3 o clock to 11pm sometimes even 1 am just getting homework done. I did my very best pushing myself to do things I didn't enjoy such as Ap Calculus, but what proved to me more costly was seeing my family suffer. My father and mother have been in this country for 20 plus years. They worked hard as carpenters and caretakers. They have contributed to this country regardless of their legal status, they pay taxes,they have raised four sons, two of which recently graduated from the University of California Berkeley. It broke my heart to see them get denied residency after waiting for so long, when the only crime they committed was to want a better future for their children. My mother was ill for a while during my junior year. She was in and out of the hospital for six months. My grandfather passed away and she couldn't attend his funeral. During senior year, two of our close friends passed away on the same night my other grandfather passed away in Mexico and my father couldn't even go say goodbye because of the fear of never being able to see us again. The emotional toll this took on me was very great it became difficult for me to balance having 5 Ap classes and one honors. I remember sitting in my 2nd period, Ap Biology trying to hold back the tears as I tried to do my work. I felt helpless, I couldn't help my father, nor my mother, nor my family members in Mexico.That day I decided I would carry my grandfather's legacy. He was a man who raised his siblings when they became orphaned at a young age. He always helped in his community feeding the homeless and being the kindest person anyone ever knew. For him I want to make a change. I ended up graduating top ten of my senior class with 800 students and now I will attend one of the best public universities in the country. I want to pursue a career in medicine, I want to be able to help those in need. Those who can't help themselves. But the truth of the matter is that I can't do this on my own. I need a community. I will need all the support I can get, so that one day I can use my knowledge in Biology and Medicine to help those in need as a cardiac sonographer .

Challenges, the shape-shifters of this world. They may present themselves as disabilities, weaknesses, and the barriers that keep us away from all that we wish to be, become, or have. They are shadow-dwellers and it is only when we take them on, when we expose ourselves to light, that we are able to experience true growth. One challenge can shape the heart of even the most stubborn mule. That challenge was and is my battle with anxiety. Irrational fear engulfs your mind. Sudden helplessness inhabits your being. That burden that weighs heavily on your performance and your outlook on life.The Goliath to my David. A possession, as you don’t feel in control. Hindrance to life itself. This monster I have fought since the dawn of kindergarten. My first day of school I barely knew any English words. All I knew were the abc’s as I grew up in an immigrant home. Imagine walking into a room not being able to communicate with those around you. I persevered for my own sake. I needed to assimilate. I needed to enter this new path of learning, so I did. But, I couldn’t help but feel full of anxiety and overwhelmed as I cried when I stepped foot in class.This, the Genesis of my battles with anxiety. Battles that would ensue many times. In my sophomore year of high school I found myself having panic attacks at school every week. This would affect my grades significantly. But, still I found solace in faith. For through faith I was able to find the weapons to fight my battles. Through my encounters with God I was to be equipped with purpose. Purpose to help me take back what belongs to me. Purpose, power to take back my life, my emotions, my health, and all that this battle has taken from me. For my existence’s purpose is to be a force of good and when I recognize that greater purpose I am not only someone who can shake the earth, but someone who can inspire others to take back what’s theirs and to live long, happy, healthy lives. For that reason, with that motivation, I now set out to push myself beyond my limits. I enrolled in as many Ap classes as I could during junior and senior year of high school. I decided, that even if I wasn't born into the best conditions, that even if I didn't have natural talent, that even if I wasn't handed everything from the get go, I was going to make something out of myself. I was going to have faith in the God above me and in myself. I was going to make myself proud and to honor the God above me who saw potential in me when I did not yet see it. The one who picked me up at my lowest moments. For that reason I try my best in everything I do. For that reason I applied to schools like UC Berkeley. Schools that promote excellence. Now that school has accepted me and I can only be grateful, but the job isn't done. We're just getting started.