To understand where I am now, it's important to understand my background. My father left our family and gave up his parental rights when I was five and my mother, who struggled mentally, was devastated. She earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. My mother then went on the run for two days, eventually returning home and taking her own life by overdosing on drugs and alcohol. Following my mother's suicide, I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother. My grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks each month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher of mine found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. This was a turning point. I was chosen by a family that wanted to envelop me in love and let me be a kid again. I didn't have to take care of my mother when she was drunk. I didn't have to figure out where I was going to sleep for the night. I didn't have to be the grown up in the family for once in my life. I was safe, cared for, and protected. For the first time in a long time, I began to evaluate what I believe, what I want for a future, and what I expect for myself from others. I have learned that I am stronger than I once believed. I have learned that I am lovable to my family, friends, and God. I have learned that even in the darkest of moments, there is a glimmer of hope to hold on to. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

To understand where I am now, it's important to understand my background. My father left our family and gave up his parental rights when I was five and my mother, who struggled mentally, was devastated. She earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. My mother then chose to take her own life and I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother. My grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks each month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher of mine found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. This was a turning point in my life. For the first time, I was chosen! I was part of a family that wanted to love me, take care of me, and help me heal. I had parents to keep me safe and siblings who wanted to guide me forward. I am now in therapy for the trauma that I suffered at the hands of my biological family. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

To begin wiht, my story is a little different. I did not find my chosen family and my parents until I was sixteen. My biological mother was mentally unstable and abused me physically, sexually, and mentally and trafficked me out to other people. She committed suicide when I was sixteen and my maternal grandmother was given custody of me. My grandmother works in Mexico for three out of four weeks every month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher at Cornerstone found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. She already loved me and I her. My family and I chose each other. When I was brought in to live with the Padgetts, Mr. Padgett, or Pop, was a huge influence in my life and in my perspective as a young women. I had never really had a full-time father figure and as I got to know him, I realized that there were stark similiarities between our lives. His mother was also mentally unstable, and he too had been subjected to mental and physical abuse. It was probably the first time an adult in my life could relate to some of my experiences from a personal perspective. Pop and I had a connection from the start! The first night I arrived, I had to be taken to the ER for a head injury after falling off my skate board. Pop immediately took on the father role and held my hand through all of it while Yaya (Mrs. P) dealth with logistics At the end, he even said, "Like all new babies, she kept us up all night." He is funny, supportive, reasonable, compassionate, and treats me like his daughter. My chosen parents have helped to shape who I am as a young woman, what I believe, and what I expect for myself from others.They have helped me discover my value and to find respect for myself. Together we have developed a plan for my furture. My greatest life goal is to join the military and use my training and education to transition to a government organization like the FBI or CIA to combat human trafficking in our country and around the world. This dream came to be as a result of my experiences as a child. As someone who was trafficked to wealthy men by their own bilological mother,I cannot imagine allowing this to happen to another soul. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit! My chosen family (dad, mom, grandparents, brothers, sisters-in-law, niece, and nephew) have shown me what a real family that loves and supports truly looks like. While I know we are not a typical "blended" family, we are a family, and they are the reason I have and will achieve my goals.

To understand where I am now, it's important to understand my background. My father left our family and gave up his parental rights when I was five and my mother, who struggled mentally, was devastated. She earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother. My mother then took her own life by overdosing on drugs and alcohol. She left behind two letters that blamed me for her suicide. After this, I continued down a road of drug and alcohol abuse. It was truly the only way I could face the day many times. It was easy to do, because my grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks each month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher at Cornerstone found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. Moving in with my chosen family allowed me, maybe for the first time every, to be a child. They took care of me, instead of me taking care of my mother or myself. I was safe and I was physically taken care of. Then it was time to address the other issues. Leaving behind drugs and alcohol became easier. I would not say I was ever addicted, but I would say they were a crutch when I couldn't cope with day to day stress. Coming home to a family and parents who cared for me really gave me a foundation to move forward. I began seeing a therapist and am now working in EMDR therapy. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. I will also need to continue to work with physicians and therapists to gain perspective and improve my mental health. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. Education has always been a significant piece of my life. When everything else was chaos growing up, school was my safe place. It was the place I knew I would find comfort and support. School was the place where ther was food and I knew I could get a solid meal at least once in a day. It was also the one part of my life that I was in control of. Being a strong student was something I could be proud of. My grades were a reflection of me, not the rest of my life. It was the thing in my life I didn't have to hide from my friends. At school, I was on a level playing field with the rest of my peers and it seemed like I was "normal". When I was at school, learning, working on assignments, interacting with teachers and friends, I appeared to be like everyone else, at least on the surface. I also knew that getting an education was going to be my escape from the abuse and my mother. I knew, even in middle school, that I had to get good grades and get to college. College, for me, was the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t want another person to be trafficked or abused ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. She inevitably took her own life. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. She inevitably took her own life. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

To understand where I am now, it's important to understand my background. My father left our family and gave up his parental rights when I was five and my mother, who struggled mentally, was devastated. She earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother. At that time, my mother ended her own. My grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks each month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher at Cornerstone found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. They have taken me in and made me their child. Education has always been a top priority in my life. When everything else was chaos growing up, school was my safe place. It was the place I knew I would find comfort and support. School was the place where ther was foodand I knew I could get a solid meal at least once in a day. It was also the one part of my life that I was in control of. Being a strong student was something I could be proud of. My grades were a reflection of me, not the rest of my life. It was the thing in my life I didn't have to hide from my friends. At school, I was on a level playing field with the rest of my peers and it seemed like I was "normal". When I was at school, learning, working on assignments, interacting with teachers and friends, I appeared to be like everyone else, at least on the surface. I also knew that getting an education was going to be my escape. I knew, even in middle school, that I had to get good grades and get to college. College was the light at the end of the tunnel. My chosen family has helped me finish high school and apply and get accepted to Texas A&M University. I am currently seeing a therapist and I am engaged in EMDR therapy. I have also attended Experience Camps for girls for the last two summers. These camps allow girls who have lost a parent to work through grief together and they offer resources for help. I have also been working with the Texas Rangers who has chosen to investigate my specific case. While going through evidence has brought the past back, it has also helped me heal in many ways. I know that the trauma I have experienced will forever be a part of me, but it does not have to define me. With ongoing mental health care, a family to love and support me, and a future to dream of, there is a great deal to look forward to and have faith in.

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

To understand where I am now, it's important to understand my background. My father left our family and gave up his parental rights when I was five and my mother, who struggled mentally, was devastated. She earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother, at which time my mother took her life. My grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks eachmonth. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. After a year of living like this, a former teacher at Cornerstone found out about the sitaution and invited me to live with her and her family. Education has always been a top priority in my life. When everything else was chaos growing up, school was my safe place. It was the place I knew I would find comfort and support. School was the place where ther was food and I knew I could get a solid meal at least once in a day. It was also the one part of my life that I was in control of. Being a strong student was something I could be proud of. My grades were a reflection of me, not the rest of my life. It was the thing in my life I didn't have to hide from my friends. At school, I was on a level playing field with the rest of my peers and it seemed like I was "normal". When I was at school, learning, working on assignments, interacting with teachers and friends, I appeared to be like everyone else, at least on the surface. I also knew that getting an education was going to be my escape. I knew, even in middle school, that I had to get good grades andget to college. College was the light at the end of the tunnel. The Padgett family has taken me in, given me a home and a family and provided for me as I finished high school. However, while I am certain they would gladly help, making this happen is my responsibility. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. After my mother committed suicide, there was a period of time where I relied on friends to let me sleep on their couches. A former teacher, Mrs. Padgett and her family invited me to come and live with them. They offered me a home and a family. When I was brought in to live with the Padgetts, Mr. Padgett, or Pop, was a huge influence in my life and in my perspective as a young women. I had never really had a full-time father figure and as I got to know him, Pop and I had a connection from the start! The first night I arrived, I had to be taken to the ER for a head injury after falling off my skate board. Pop immediately took on the father role and held my hand through all of it while Yaya (Mrs. P) dealth with logistics At the end, he even said, "Like all good babies, she kept us up all night." He is funny, supportive, reasonable, compassionate, and treats me like his own daughter. He has helped to shape who I am as a young woman. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives, finally taking her own. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do! Following my mother's death, I was essentially homeless and living on friends couches. A former teacher and her family took me in and have provided a home and safety for me over the last two and a half years. While they have supported me in every way a family would, I do not expect for them to fund my college education. I will be relying on scholarships or perhaps loans to fund my educational future.

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My mother earned money by selling herself to wealthy men. She drown her emotions in drugs and alcohol and quickly started giving them to me so that she (and others) could physically and sexually abuse me. This continued until I was fifteen, at which time I took a huge step and reported my mother to Child Protective Services. I was remanded to the custody of my uncle and then eventually my maternal grandmother which led to my mother taking her own life. My grandmother works in Mexico three out of four weeks each month. When she was out of the country, I was essentially left to figure out living arrangements on my own. I slept on friends couches, sometimes hid at school in the bathroom, and sometimes slept on the park bench outside of our neighborhood. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do! My entire childhood was marked by money, or the lack of money. My mother made choices because of a lack of money, my grandmother has used money as a control mechanism, and when I chose to cut ties with her, cutting off money was the first thing she did. Money is always at the top of the list of concerns. Even having the ability to go to college is marked by the concern for money.

Wow, I am amazed by the connection I have to Jack Terry's story. We both faced unbelievably horrific experiences that altered our lives forever, but also helped drive us to succeed and continue on. I see so many parts of Mr. Terry's story that parallel my own, like not speaking the language when entering the door of education and military service. Most importantly, I see Mr. Terry's wish to help others overcome hardships and adversity as the shining star that aligns with my goals perfectly. By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit. I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do! I am fortunate to have been taken in by a former teacher and her family when my mother took her life. Prior to that, I was living with my maternal grandmother when she was in the country, or I was living on couches of different friends. The Padgetts have provided me security and a home for over two years and I am incredibly grateful, but I have no expectation that they will be able to provide a college education, so this part is on me. Any scholarship money that I am blessed with will be used for tuition and living expenses throughout the four years of college. Without financial help, college will either leave me deeply in debt, or will not be a possibility. I know that if this is God's plan for me, He will make a way.

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science. I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science, I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace and a lot of grit, I know this is what I am meant to do!

By the grace of God I am a survivor! From the start of my life, I have had to fight to live. I was born to a mother who was not sure she even wanted me and tried to abort me before birth, and a father who struggled with my mother’s mental illness and abandoned the marriage and me five years later. My entire childhood from the age of five to the age of sixteen was marked with various abuses and on two occasions my mother tried to take both of our lives. God was there every step of the way, giving me strength, walking beside me, protecting me, and showing me that there was more to life and that His plans for me were far greater than any I could imagine. It is hard to explain on many levels what my life was like during this time. I have tried to use these experiences to solidify who I am, and who I want to become. I have had to grasp the fact that many people who claimed to love and care for me refused to defend me amid the horror they may have had some knowledge of. I have come to realize that the healing part of this journey will be life-long and that I will need to lean on the Lord and His understanding and not my own as I make this journey. My greatest hope is that I can use a horrible past to create a bright future. I don’t want any other child, woman, or person to be trafficked or abused in any way ever again. My promise, to myself, is to transform my past pain into fire that drives my future. School and learning have always been my escape and the part of my life I was able to control even at the earliest age. My first language was Spanish and that has served me well in many ways. I live in an area of the country, South Texas, that has a strong Hispanic influence. My ability to speak Spanish has helped me to communicate with others and build relationships with both students and teachers who are also Spanish speaking. I will be ble to place out of language classes at school, and take the AP Spanish test in order to earn that college credit before graduation. I have also faced some challenges with Spanish being my first language. When I entered school, translating from Spanish to English, in my head, was a challenge when it came to reading and writing. Even now, there are times when I struggle to find the right words in English when writing. I have worked hard academically, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Texas A & M University in the Fall. I will be joining the Corps of Cadets with a goal of entering the military following graduation and then applying to join the CIA. With a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science. I believe that the ability to speak both Spanish and English will serve me well as I navigate college with others from various backgrounds as well as during my time in the military and eventually with the CIA. Spanish is a language spoken in many parts of the world and I believe this will be an asset. I pray that I will possess the education, the experience, the passion, and the skills to make a difference in the world and stop the scourge of human trafficking. I am a survivor and with God’s grace it's what I'm meant to do!

I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, but my life has been a series of travels between Acapulco and Texas. My biological family speaks spanish at home and everything we do, from what we cook to what we purchase is influenced by my Mexican heritage. My maternal grandparents are both from Mexico, and my paternal grandparents still reside in Mexico. My Mexican heritage is in every fiber of my being. Living in South Texas, the Mexican heritage is evident all around and is embraced and incorporated into our daily lives. My goal is to earn a college degree and then to join the military and use my training and education to transition to a government organization like the FBI or CIA to combat human trafficking in our country and around the world. This dream came to be as a result of my experiences as a child. As someone who was trafficked by their own mother, I cannot imagine allowing this to happen to another soul. I am aware of the sheer numbers of children and adults who are trafficked each year, not only for sex, but also as slaves, and for organ harvesting. It is appalling that this is a practice that exists worldwide and that some cultures even promote it. Having lived this first hand, I will dedicate my life to ending this horror to the greatest extent that I am able. I believe in my heart that God spared me several times when I should have died so that I could adopt this mission with my whole heart. Following the discovery of the abuse by CPS, my mother committed suicide. I was left in the custody of my grandmother until it was discovered that she knew of more of the abuse than she admitted to, then I was placed in the custody of the state for a brief period of time prior to my eighteenth birthday. I currently reside with a former teacher and her family who have provided me a home helped me to obtain a scholarship to attend CCS so that I could continue at the school I have been at since 7th grade. While they have generously stepped in to be my "parents" and family, I have no expectation that they are able to provide a college education for me. Going to college will only be possible through scholarships and grants.