I'm Juan Lopez, and I am a proud bisexual, first-generation Mexican American student who will study Communications and Journalism at Arizona State University. Wellness exists as a survival strategy as well as a rebellion against systems that do not serve people from my background. Growing up in underfunded schools and living in neighborhoods with limited safety, mental health wasn't a luxury it was just unspoken about. My experience as someone who holds multiple identities has led me to reduce my size to match societal norms of acceptability. My knowledge of handling my sexuality along with cultural identity and academic goals simultaneously was highly challenging, yet wellness provided me with essential coping mechanisms. The loss of all my high school and college credits occurred during my time at a new educational institution. It seemed as if I had lost my entire self my dedication to education was disregarded entirely. I considered giving up. During our meeting, she looked into my eyes to say, "Sí se puede", yes, you can. This phrase acted as a source of support during my struggles. I started again, rebuilt myself, and graduated with 62 new credits. It wasn't just a comeback; it was a transformation. My volunteering activities have significantly influenced my healing process. The children attending my church's Vacation Bible School received a safe space to express their emotions without restrictions, while knowing they had complete acceptance for being themselves. My efforts to help others find inner peace led to my discovery of serenity. The sight of their smiles taught me that wellness exists between individuals because it forms a connection between people. I define wellness as complete acceptance of every part of myself. My breaths reach deep into my lungs whenever people misuse my pronouns or display stereotypes. I dedicate myself to supporting mental health services in communities that still view therapy as unacceptable. I use storytelling through journalism and activism to reveal the human stories that exist behind every news headline. The main obstacle I encounter extends beyond stress and burnout because I must prove my right to exist in academic and social spaces that were not designed with people like me in mind. Wellness serves as my method to fight back against challenges. It's how I show up. It's how I change the conversation. My academic path forward includes establishing wellness resources for communities that resemble my own. I want to ensure LGBTQ+ students who are immigrants understand they should never need to select between academic success and staying authentic. Your consideration of my story means the world to me because learning wellness has shown me that survival power can transform into revolutionary healing.

The foundation of my identity emerges from my experience as a first-generation immigrant student who has demonstrated resilience. My Mexican American family treated education as something that people only dreamed about, since it wasn't something they ever had. My parents dedicated their lives to supporting our family because they never had the opportunity to pursue an education. The sacrifices my parents made showed that opportunities are constructed through hard work, since they rarely appear naturally. Higher education has become a confusing path that I navigate without any direction. I have needed to translate financial aid forms while advocating for myself in new academic settings and learning to manage schoolwork with household responsibilities. My experiences transformed my outlook because I now understand that education serves as a tool to elevate my family and community. My membership in the LGBTQ+ community adds depth to my life experience. I've learned to maintain my truth in silence because immediate acceptance isn't always available. This experience has developed my ability to empathize and intensified my dedication to creating welcoming environments for people who feel invisible. My goal extends beyond personal achievement. My future goal is to become a lawyer who will advocate for equity in educational institutions and immigration matters. Through my identity, I learned that justice requires collective effort to construct it, because it doesn't exist naturally. I represent the first member of my family to pursue higher education. I've established a new path that will serve as an example for others to follow.

I witnessed my construction-working father who held decades of experience receive his dismissal from a suit-wearing engineer at the age of seven. The suit-wearing engineer dismissed my father's warnings about structural problems in the house construction because he was not an engineer. “You didn’t study engineering,” he said. “You don’t have a degree.” My father returned home feeling disappointed because his warning about the foundation and roof design went unacknowledged. He made the promise to my mother that he would support our children in getting degrees because he wanted them to earn respect from others. The event created a lasting impression on me. Education brings people more than just knowledge because it provides dignity along with credibility and creates opportunities. As the firstborn among five Mexican immigrant children, I have held this lesson since I faced every obstacle. Living in poverty required me to make every dollar and meal and moment count. I experienced poverty firsthand which drove me to work toward better futures for my loved ones and my community. During the summer before starting high school, I operated a free meal service at our local library. I welcomed families, served food, and created a space of warmth and respect. I took the lead in guiding other volunteers to provide respectful treatment to every child. Through my work I distributed both meals and dignity to those in need. After completing my college credit programs in high school, I decided to enroll in Communications because I understood it would be a strategic way to achieve my law school goals. My first day at Pima Community College brought the shocking news that only six out of fifty-two earned credits could transfer. I was devastated. Years of effort — erased. I cried. I doubted myself. The experience did not stop me from moving forward. I said, “I start again.” And I did. My choice to major in Communications followed a strategic approach because I recognized its value as a steppingstone to law school. I aim to establish a legal practice that will fight for marginalized communities who encounter immigration challenges alongside education and systemic bias problems. I have completed 62 new credits in less than two years while preparing to move to Arizona State University. My life path followed a non-traditional route which I designed myself to serve my purpose. For me justice requires creating a fair foundation for all people. Students from my background who face first-generation status and low-income conditions, and queer identity and resilience should not face consequences for their educational success. The systems adapt their requirements when people approach their targets. My goal as a future lawyer will be to defend marginalized communities while also working to move obstacles out of their way or to establish new opportunities for everyone to succeed. Each obstacle I encountered led me to continue my path forward. Each time uncertainty emerged I made the decision to voice my thoughts. I made the decision to become visible to others during all moments of being overlooked because I wanted to represent my community.

As a first-generation college student, I have faced many challenges in my life that I have overcome, yet one of the most difficult challenges that I have faced in my life was how some people felt about the LGBTQ+ community. I come from an immigrant household where both my parents hold on to very traditional beliefs where LGBTQ+ was something that they never talked about and that many people didn't take so kindly to accept. Well, I haven't told my parents. I have said the oldest of my youngest sisters that I am bisexual, and well, she was very supportive and even told me it doesn't change how she sees me. Well, I don't plan on telling my parents that I'm Bi anytime soon. I know that sooner or later, I will have to have this discussion with them, and well, they have changed their views on the LGBTQ+ community and are more accepting. But when the time comes for me to have this discussion with them, I hope that they can understand that I'm still the same person regardless of my sexuality. I have told my friends about me being Bi, and all of them are perfectly fine and accepting of me and even supporting me during times when I wasn't so sure about myself. Well, many people don't know that I'm bisexual. The ones that do know have been very supportive and have even educated themselves on the LGBTQ+ community as well. When I was younger, I knew that I was a little bit different from others, and well, I wasn't entirely sure at the time, not until middle school when I was entirely sure of myself that I was Bi. Since coming to this conclusion and telling only the ones closest to me, I have gone to LGBTQ+ events in my local city, where I have met some incredible people. Who showed me around the community, introducing me to people from different walks of life who were kind enough to share their stories with me, which led to us becoming close. Over the past few years, I have grown more and more confident in myself and who I am, and well, I still have only told those who are the closest to me I'm very grateful for their support for me and who I am. Well, in the Latino community, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community has shifted and has started to become more and more excepting there are still a lot of issues for those who are Latino and who identify with the LGBTQ+ community, and well I have met a handful of other Latinos who are apart of the LGBTQ+ community I'm glad to see that it's becoming more and more excepting as time goes on. My career aspirations are to go into law and become a lawyer. I understand that there isn't a lot of representation of LGBTQ+ lawyers. Having researched, I learned that only three percent of lawyers identified as part of the quire community. One of the most common reasons why is that many do not feel safe or welcomed in a field that is still very conservative and traditional. It has made some progress, and I want to be a role model for others to know that regarding your sexuality, you can do any job as well. I want to show others that regardless of who you love and what community you identify with, it doesn't mean that you are not less than others and that it doesn't limit you to the careers you can pursue.

I'm Juan Lopez and I am first-generation college student, the oldest of five children to two Mexican immigrants from Guanajuato, Mexico, who took a chance at having a better life for themselves and their kids by making the tough decision to come to the US and growing up in a home where my parents still held onto their very traditional ways of thinking and living. My family and I moved around a few times within the same city, trying to find a place to live. We have lived in small rooms and bedroom apartments, too, staying with my aunt for a few weeks to finally being able to live in a two-bedroom trailer for about seventeen years of my life. Growing up, my family didn't have much money, which meant that we didn't have a lot; my father, at one point, ended up having two jobs, and my mother stayed home with us. But when my father lost his job due to both construction companies due to the 2008 recession that caused many people to get laid off, my father was one of the millions of people who were laid off. My father had a hard time finding work, which meant that we were even more reliant on money, making it even more difficult for us to stay afloat. During this time, my family and I would not always have enough money to put food on the table; instead, we would have to use whatever money we had to pay for rent and a couple of utilities to stay on. There were times when my parents didn't even have enough money for gas for my father's work truck and would have to ask for rides from others to go to any small jobs he could get. Seeing just how much my parents had to go through to keep our family afloat well and going through some of the most difficult times in our lives made me see my parents differently. My whole life, I was told that Mexicans are some of the hardest workers, and well, I believed that for a very long time, I didn't realize just how resilient my people are. During this period, other families in my neighborhood were primarily Mexican immigrant families, resilient and pushed through in whatever ways they could. Seeing other Mexican immigrant families come together to check up on each other, offering help with networking to help find jobs, offering meals whenever they had enough for food, and offering child care for those who had children while looking for work. Well, my family didn't have much to offer for help. My parents didn't have any issues with checking up on our neighbors, asking them if they needed any help or if they needed something. Seeing how kind-hearted and hard-working my parents were during this time made me see the world differently. Those moments made me realize that just because you don't have much to offer doesn't mean you have nothing to give; it's the same with our neighbors. Well, they didn't have much to offer either. It didn't stop them from finding ways to help those around them. I will forever be grateful that I grew up with the parents that I have and in the neighborhood that I grew up in for the majority of my life since they showed me that even in the most challenging times that people go through, there are still ways to help and give back to others regardless if you have a lot or not.

I grew up in a community where everyone had very little. Despite our challenges, we found ways to continue and grow. As a first-generation college student and the oldest of five children with immigrant parents who spoke limited English and had limited finances, I knew I would face many obstacles along the way. From a young age, I realized that while you can accomplish much independently, asking for help is always beneficial. When you receive assistance, it's essential to give back to the community and help others. My family lived in a low-income trailer park, where most of our neighbors were families who had immigrated to the United States with little education. Many of us faced similar challenges, from struggling to put food on the table to being unable to afford new clothes and navigating the U.S. public education system. I saw how much harder it would have been for many families if not for the kind-hearted individuals from local organizations, schools, churches, and the nearby public library. They provided essential support, helping families find jobs, ensuring children had food, and guiding us through the complexities of the public school system while creating opportunities for growth and improvement. I have always wanted to give back to my community in any way I could, whether looking after neighbors' children. At the same time, they worked, helping others with their homework or translating for neighbors who struggled with paperwork or customer service. I was incredibly excited when I turned fourteen and got to volunteer at my local public library the summer before eighth grade. I was thrilled to help manage a free summer meals program for kids that the library was launching. I took responsibility for setting up and distributing the free meals that many kids and their families needed, as we often relied on schools for food. It was heartwarming to see families come into the library to receive meals while enjoying each other's company and fostering a sense of community during summer. Volunteering at the library became even more fulfilling, knowing I was making a difference and creating a welcoming space for everyone. If I were selected for this scholarship, I would continue to assist others by helping them learn how to navigate university life, work, and personal experiences. I plan to utilize the social media of a small local organization called the TEA Proposal, which I have been a member of since 2023 I'm part of to promote various opportunities, resources, and tools available to individuals from diverse backgrounds, particularly those who are disadvantaged. I want to support those in my community, especially during these unprecedented times when millions of Americans face significant challenges that can impact their lives.

From a young age, I never saw anyone who looked like me or came from a similar background as me in the medical or law fields. Many of them were people who were lighter complected and came from middle-class to high-class households. My family has had unfortunate treatment when seeing lawyers or doctors, from being denied treatment, to not wanting to serve us due to my parents being immigrants and not knowing English. Despite their experience, my parents encouraged my siblings and me to choose careers that we wanted to do. For me, I expressed an interest in both medicine and law. The same two career fields that my parents did not have the best experience with professionals. I hope to bring more representation to these fields and to change not only my parents’ experience but also others in similar circumstances by providing them with quality treatment and service. Throughout my grad school years, I learned many people of different cultures and backgrounds are still not represented and treated fairly by the medical and law communities. Well in my freshman, Avid class, my teacher Ms. Wilcox brought up the topic of inclusion and how society has made changes to include others but that there is still a lot of work to be done to make everyone feel included. She asked the class if they can share any career fields that still haven't become inclusive enough and if we have or know anyone who has had any negative experiences. The whole class shared and many of my peers have expressed that many career fields like law, medician, software development and etc., were mainly male-dominated spaces. Many students explained some of the missed treatment that people of different backgrounds face in these industries. The miss treatment causes many people to leave their jobs which leads to the underrepresentation of different cultures, genders, and backgrounds. Ms. Wilcox even shared some of her experiences working in the music industry as a female artist. When it was time for me to share I explained how my parents were miss treated by professionals in the medical and law communities and how there is a lack of diversity which led to many Latinos not feeling conformable seeking legal and medical assistance. As the class discussion progressed we all learned that even though things have changed with time there are still improvements that we need to do. By the end of the class, Ms. Wilcox assigned us to create a piece of art that would help to represent how we feel about the lack of diversity. That evening when I arrived home I started to sketch out the first idea that came to my mind, I wanted to represent those who come from different backgrounds and of different colors that want to pursue a career in the medical and law communities. By the end, I ended up using watercolors to create a piece of art that I would end up keeping till the end of my senior year. Though out my years of grad school I continued to look at these pieces of art to help me get through some of the hardest times, when I'm at my lowest and I want to give up I would look at my art and remind myself that it won't be easy. But by the end of the, I will be able to represent those who weren't represented before like my parents, I want to make a change in my community by showing others that they too can be a part of the change as well.

From a young age, I never saw anyone who looked like me or came from a similar background as me in the medical or law fields. Many of them were people who were lighter complected and came from middle-class to high-class households. My family has had unfortunate treatment when seeing lawyers or doctors, from being denied treatment, to not wanting to serve us due to my parents being immigrants and not knowing English. Despite their experience, my parents encouraged my siblings and I to choose careers that we wanted to do. For me, I expressed an interest in both medicine and law. The same two career fields that my parents did not have the best experience with professionals. I hope to bring more representation to these fields and to change not only my parents’ experience, but also for others in similar circumstances by providing them with quality treatment and service. Throughout grade school, I have researched for opportunities to help me learn about both careers and giving back to others. In my freshman year of high school, my avid teacher, Ms. Wilcox was a big help in finding opportunities that could help me learn more about both careers. Ms. Wilcox introduced me to a variety of workshops, shadowing, volunteering, and programs that I could do to gain experience as well as find resources that would help me along the way. Out of all the opportunities, two stood out to me the most. The first one was a summer medical program I did the summer after my junior year called Med-Start. Med-Start is a two-month-long program whose main priority is to allow students to learn about the medical field while promoting diversity. And for law, I joined an organization called the Tea Proposal, which is a local organization in Tucson that provides high school students with equal opportunities to learn about different careers. Being a first-generation college student influenced me to choose programs that promoted equality and diversity well provideding guidance for others, from personal experience, I understand how important it is to have guidances and representation that's why working towards my career goals I plan on continuing to help those who are looking for guidance and who want to make a change for there community.

From a young age, I never saw anyone who looked like me or came from a similar background as me in the medical or law fields. Many of them were people who were lighter complected and came from middle-class to high-class households. My family has had unfortunate treatment when seeing doctors from being denied treatment, to not wanting to serve us due to my parents being immigrants and not knowing English. Despite their experience, my parents encouraged my siblings and I to choose careers that we wanted to do. For me, I expressed an interest in medicine. The same career field that my parents did not have the best experience with professionals. I hope to bring more representation to these fields and to change not only my parents’ experience but also for others in similar circumstances by providing them with quality treatment and service. Throughout grade school, I have researched for opportunities to help me learn about both careers and giving back to others. In my freshman year of high school, my avid teacher, Ms. Wilcox was a big help in finding opportunities that could help me learn more about the medical field. Ms. Wilcox introduced me to a variety of workshops, shadowing, volunteering, and programs that I could do to gain experience as well as find resources that would help me along the way. Out of all the opportunities, one stood out to me the most. It was a summer medical program I did the summer after my junior year called Med-Start. Med-Start is a two-month-long program whose main priority is to allow students to learn about the medical field while promoting diversity. In Med-Start, I took college-level classes, gaining college credits as well as bringing awareness to areas in the medical community. We were broken up into groups, and given the task of creating a presentation on a topic in the medical community that provided solutions. My group wanted to bring awareness to how the public health system has gotten worse due to COVID and what hospitals and clinics can do to help. My group and I were able to go to different communities that had a diverse population and ask them about their experiences with the public health care system. Some people explained that many hospitals and clinics were very understaffed and that it took much longer to get checked in. Some even expressed the mistreatment they experienced when seeking medical care. When our group president presented, we explained how the pandemic caused many healthcare workers to experience burnout, which created a dispropriatnate ratio of patients to providers due to many quitting. We presented solutions that we came up with, and one of them is having a stronger support system for medical providers so they don’t experience burnout too quickly. We also introduced implementing a program that encourages people of different cultures and backgrounds to pursue a career in medicine. Shortly after, many clinics and hospitals announced that they were going to create support systems that would help prevent burnout among medical providers. I and my group felt very proud that we were able to help make a change in the medical and local communities. Going into college I plan on continuing to bring awareness to areas of the public health system so people of different backgrounds can have access to quality care and feel protected.