I am a sophomore at UCSB planning to pursue a career in wildlife rehabilitation. I am extremely passionate about sustainability, the environment, and combating climate change, and I want to positively impact our environment. My interest in sustainability started when I decided to volunteer for local beach cleanups alongside an organization named LA Waterkeeper. I have worked alongside others in my community to achieve our common goal: to free our local beach of trash. The cleanups generally consist of 30 volunteers and myself, scavenging left and right, collecting pieces of trash, and documenting each collected item. Being a part of this experience would be very important to me because I want to continue learning more about sustainability. I applied to a program at UCSB called The Environmental Leadership Incubator. It is a nine-month program that trains undergraduate students to become environmental leaders. Throughout the program, I will come up with an environmental project idea that can be aimed at social, cultural, technical, and/or policy levels. For my project idea, I want to implement the Three R’s - reduce, reuse, recycle. I plan on collecting litter at the beach and using the collected items to create art. These past experiences have helped me realize that I want to continue to make an impact on the environment.

I am a sophomore at UCSB planning to pursue a career in wildlife conservation. I am extremely passionate about sustainability, the environment, and combating climate change and I want to make a positive impact on our environment. My interest in conservation started when I decided to volunteer for local beach cleanups alongside an organization named LA Waterkeeper. I have worked alongside others in my community to achieve our common goal: to free our local beach of trash. The cleanups generally consist of 30 volunteers and myself, scavenging left and right, collecting pieces of trash, and documenting each collected item. Each experience was different from the one before because I had the chance to meet and interact with a new group of people. For instance, at my first cleanup, I was grouped with four middle schoolers and although we did not know each other and we had a significant age gap, we still managed to get along and work together to make a change in our community. These past experiences have helped me realize that I want to continue to make an impact in my hometown as well, which is why during my senior year of high school I decided to create the Environmental Club. I founded the club to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. I planned to use the club to better the community by persuading my peers to volunteer at future cleanups. By contributing to improving the quality of our neighborhood, I hoped to transform the community’s mindset to one that is more eco-friendly and more willing and enthusiastic to make a change. More recently, I decided I wanted to continue learning more about sustainability which is why I applied to a program at UCSB called The Environmental Leadership Incubator. It is a nine-month program that trains undergraduate students to become environmental leaders. Throughout the duration of the program, I will come up with an environmental project idea that can be aimed at a social, cultural, technical, and/or policy level. For my project idea, I want to implement the Three R’s - reduce, reuse, recycle. I plan on collecting litter at the beach and using the collected items to create art. With the art I create, I plan on giving it to the UCSB Art Department and hope that students who view it are influenced in making a change as well. I plan to keep contributing to my community and working towards making it a better, safer, and more enjoyable place for everyone. I realize that I want to continue to make an impact on the environment and If I am awarded this scholarship I can continue to pay for my college education and be a part of other programs that will help me succeed in becoming an environmental leader.

Like numerous other low-income first-generation students, attending an underfunded high school has been the most significant challenge I have faced. Inglewood High School, the school I went to, lacked the necessary resources a high school student needs to achieve their full potential. Thus, they were not able to offer as many enriching classes, extracurriculars, and programs as I wished. Since I realized that my school could not provide me with the essential resources, I began looking for them on my own. Inglewood High does not provide SAT workshops for its students. For this reason, I spent most of my junior year preparing for the exam on my own. I continuously searched online for SAT practice exams and borrowed as many SAT vocabulary books as possible. I made it a habit to take a practice exam once a week to track my progress and to continue to build on my knowledge. Taking the time to find my own resources paid off in the end because I surpassed the average SAT composite score for students who attend Inglewood High. Although I was not supplied with the materials I needed to do well on the exam, I managed to seek a solution and thrive on my own. Despite the fact that Inglewood High lacks resources, they did offer a couple of clubs and programs for their students and I decided to take advantage of them. I signed up for any available clubs and programs to enhance my high school experience. For example, I participated in: Academic Decathlon, Digital Photography, El Camino French and Administration of Justice class, Student Organization of Latinos, tennis, and Teen Court. Furthermore, I created my own resources. During my senior year, I decided to take action and establish a club at my school to provide other students, and myself, with an additional activity. I founded the Environmental Club at my school to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. Attending an underfunded school taught me to be persistent in seeking opportunities on my own. I believe facing and overcoming this obstacle will help me navigate college because my inquisitive and hard-working nature will help me look or create my own resources. I trust that this experience will help me persevere through the next three years of college at UCSB so that I could one day achieve my dream career as a wildlife rehabilitator.

Like numerous other low-income first-generation students, the most significant challenge I have faced has been attending an underfunded high school. Inglewood High School, the school I went to, lacked the necessary resources a high school student needs to achieve their full potential. Thus, they were not able to offer as many enriching classes, extracurriculars, and programs as I wished. Since I realized that my school could not provide me with the essential resources, I began looking for them on my own. Inglewood High does not provide SAT workshops for its students. For this reason, I spent most of my junior year preparing for the exam on my own. I continuously searched online for SAT practice exams and borrowed as many SAT vocabulary books as possible. I made it a habit to take a practice exam once a week to track my progress and to continue to build on my knowledge. Taking the time to find my own resources paid off in the end because I surpassed the average SAT composite score for students who attend Inglewood High. Although I was not supplied with the materials I needed to do well on the exam, I managed to seek a solution and thrive on my own. Despite the fact that Inglewood High lacks resources, they did offer a couple of clubs and programs for their students and I decided to take advantage of them. I signed up for any available clubs and programs to enhance my high school experience. For example, I participated in: Academic Decathlon, Digital Photography, El Camino French and Administration of Justice class, Student Organization of Latinos, tennis, and Teen Court. Furthermore, I created my own resources. During my senior year, I decided to take action and establish a club at my school to provide other students, and myself, with an additional activity. I founded the Environmental Club at my school to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. Attending an underfunded school taught me to be persistent in seeking opportunities on my own. I believe facing and overcoming this obstacle will help me navigate college because my inquisitive and hard-working nature will help me look or create my own resources. I trust that this experience will help me persevere through the next three years of college at UCSB so that I could one day achieve my dream career as a wildlife rehabilitator.

Ever since I can remember, I have struggled with every math subject. I would practically fail all of my math tests and I could hardly grasp any of the concepts we would go over. Eventually, I gave up trying to understand any of the material which is essentially why I never planned on taking an additional year of math. Yet my high school counselor, Mrs. Infante, suggested that I should take AP Calculus because she thought I could handle it. At first I was hesitant, but I eventually caved in. It was a spontaneous and risky decision as I knew that it is an extremely perplexing subject. Soon however, I realized that although at first I did not believe I could do it, I knew I would figure out a way because I had always done so before. I was one of the few seniors taking AP Calculus that year. I was finally able to comprehend most of the material and I excelled in each exam. In addition, I had one of the highest scores in the class. Although I occasionally struggled with it, I no longer felt like giving up when it got too difficult. My skill in being an audacious person was not always clear. It was an asset I had to continuously build on throughout the years. Before, I would always doubt myself which led me to shy away from every barrier in fear of failing. Now, instead of running away from a challenge, I run towards it and fully embrace them. This skill has proved itself to be useful in college where I am exposed to new surroundings, people, and vast demanding work. This skill has made me a better student and overall a better person and I now see an opportunity to grow from any challenges ahead. Whenever I feel unmotivated or stuck I think back to Mrs. Infante who helped me overcome this previous challenge. I am very thankful for my high school counselor, who was one of the few adults who helped me unlock this hidden skill, and thanks to her I was able to continue my higher education journey. Her help was part of the reason why I got accepted into my dream school, UCSB. My counselor's belief in me made me a tenacious person and I trust that this skill will help me persevere through the upcoming three years of college so that I could one day achieve my dream career as a wildlife rehabilitator.

I am a sophomore at UCSB planning to pursue a career in wildlife conservation. I am extremely passionate about sustainability, the environment, and combating climate change and I want to make a positive impact on our environment. My interest in conservation started when I decided to volunteer for local beach cleanups alongside an organization named LA Waterkeeper. I have worked alongside others in my community to achieve our common goal: to free our local beach of trash. The cleanups generally consist of 30 volunteers and myself, scavenging left and right, collecting pieces of trash, and documenting each collected item. Each experience was different from the one before because I had the chance to meet and interact with a new group of people. For instance, at my first cleanup, I was grouped with four middle schoolers and although we did not know each other and we had a significant age gap, we still managed to get along and work together to make a change in our community. These past experiences have helped me realize that I want to continue to make an impact in my hometown as well, which is why during my senior year of high school I decided to create the Environmental Club. I founded the club to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. I planned to use the club to better the community by persuading my peers to volunteer at future cleanups. By contributing to improving the quality of our neighborhood, I hoped to transform the community’s mindset to one that is more eco-friendly and more willing and enthusiastic to make a change. More recently, I decided I wanted to continue learning more about sustainability which is why I applied to a program at UCSB called The Environmental Leadership Incubator. It is a nine-month program that trains undergraduate students to become environmental leaders. Throughout the duration of the program, I will come up with an environmental project idea that can be aimed at a social, cultural, technical, and/or policy level. My goal is to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. For my project idea, I want to implement the Three R’s - reduce, reuse, recycle. I plan on collecting litter at the beach and using the collected items to create art. With the art I create, I plan on giving it to the UCSB Art Department and hope that students who view it are influenced in making a change as well. I plan to keep contributing to my community and working towards making it a better, safer, and more enjoyable place for everyone. I realize that I want to continue to make an impact on the environment and If I am awarded this scholarship I can continue to pay for my college education and be a part of other programs that will help me succeed in becoming an environmental leader.

Like many other numerous low-income students who are immigrants and first-generation students, the most significant challenge I have faced has been attending an underfunded high school. Inglewood High School, the school I went to, lacked the necessary resources a high school student needs to achieve their full potential. Thus, they were not able to offer as many enriching classes, extracurriculars, and programs as I wished. Since I realized that my school could not provide me with the essential resources, I began looking for them on my own. Inglewood High did not provide SAT workshops for its students. For this reason, I spent most of my junior year preparing for the exam on my own. I continuously searched online for SAT practice exams and borrowed as many SAT vocabulary books as possible. I made it a habit to take a practice exam once a week to track my progress and to continue to build on my knowledge. Taking the time to find my own resources paid off in the end because I surpassed the average SAT composite score for students who attend Inglewood High. Although I was not supplied with the materials I needed to do well on the exam, I managed to seek a solution and thrive on my own. Despite the fact that Inglewood High lacks resources, they did offer a couple of clubs and programs for their students and I decided to take advantage of them. I signed up for any available clubs and programs to enhance my high school experience. For example, I participated in: Academic Decathlon, Digital Photography, El Camino French and Administration of Justice class, Student Organization of Latinos, tennis, and Teen Court. All of these clubs and programs enhanced my education and ability to succeed. Furthermore, I created my own resources. During my senior year, I decided to take action and establish a club at my school to provide other students, and myself, with an additional activity. I founded the Environmental Club at my school to raise awareness and educate the student body about ongoing environmental issues and what we could all do to help our environment. Attending an underfunded school taught me to be persistent in seeking opportunities on my own. I believe facing and overcoming this obstacle will help me navigate college, where I’ll be exposed to new surroundings, people, and vast demanding work. This skill has made me a better student and overall a better person and I now see an opportunity to grow from any challenges ahead. My inquisitive and hard-working nature will help me look or create my own resources.

I remember learning about the human body and DNA in my Life Science class - during middle school. Rosalind Franklin's photographic discoveries established that DNA had a double helix structure. Unfortunately, a colleague of hers, Maurice Wilkins, revealed this discovery to James Watson. James Watson and Francis Crick went on to publish a paper on the structure of DNA, using this photograph as evidence without any credit to Rosalind Franklin. The discovery of Rosalind Franklin inspired me at a young age and ultimately sparked my interest for science.