"I would describe myself as good at math." These were the words I had written in my journal in elementary school. Solving problems rushes me with feelings of happiness and accomplishment. With that in mind engineering seemed like it would be a good fit for me. Education is something important to my family and I. My father, especially, encouraged me to prioritize my studies. I come from a family of immigrants and they have sacrificed and worked hard for me to be where I am at now. I seek to honor their efforts by trying my best in school and making the most out of the opportunities I have been enrolled in college since 2019. Currently, I am majoring in electrical engineering and I was recently accepted into California State University Northridge. Engineering is a great and important job for society. We need people to design our buildings, roadways, technology, and much more. Engineering is also a very rewarding field as you are well compensated for your work. Moreover, engineers hold a prestigious place in society along with fields such as doctors or lawyers. To me these things are important because they motivate me to know that there are amazing rewards at the end of this difficult and long journey. In the future I hope to give back to my community just as others have given to me. I want to honor my parents, family, teachers, counselors, donors, and all those who helped me along the way by also helping the future generations to come. I would love to be able to teach the youth about the fields in stem and inspire them to trek the path that I and those around me have. I hope to even one day provide scholarships for those students who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds like myself. Those who come after us are responsible for shaping the future as we know it. It lies on us to prepare them with the tools of success to ensure the safety, peace, and prosperity of our future granchildren and their children and all our successors to humanity. Overall, I am grateful to have been given this opportunity and I would like to thank all those for considering me for this scholarship. Finally, I would like to leave the readers with one piece of advice. Dream big and work hard and our aspirations will surely turn into reality.

At 7 years old I was helping my mother pay rent. Of course, it was no more than a few dollars but I still remember seeing my mother in desparation and I offered to break my piggy bank in order to help in any way that I could. Being a child of immigrants has been filled with finanical struggles, burdens, and hopes to one day escape the cycle of poverty. My mother and father both worked all the time in order to make ends meet. This made me determined to become successful to one day be able to support my family without the worries of living paycheck to paycheck. Thankfully, I grew up in an area where many others were children of immigrants so I was able to relate to many of my classmates and peers. Being the first in my family to attend college as a Mexican American is a great source of joy and pride for my family. However, since I am entering into a world that my family has no experience in, it is difficult to walk this path as I have no one to guide me throughout this process. Furthermore, since my family is not well off, financial support to get me through college is something that I must work hard towards to be able to keep myself afloat while pursuing my academic ventures. If I could walk in someone's shoes for one day, I would choose for it to be someone from a third world country. This is because although I know I may have had a hard life, this pales in comparison to the lives of others struggling around the world. I live in a secure country and don't have the fear of street violence in everyday life. Nor do I have to resort to criminal activity to support my family. These thoughts bring me sadness but it also motivates me to be a vessel of hope and help. This is another reason that I want to become successful. Not only do I want to be able to help my immediate family, but my brothers and sisters across the globe that are suffering from all types of struggles. This scholarship would be a huge help in my path towards achieving success as I would be able to utilize the money for my necessities such as rent, food, and transportation. Thank you for this opportunity and consideration.

I have known two of my closest friends ever since the 3rd grade and now I'm entering my Junior year of College! I have two best friends named Ricardo and Adalverto. I have had a plethora of adventures with them each and also individually. Like the time Adalverto and I drove 700 miles on a roadtrip in California. Or the time Ricardo and I hiked a mountain in Yosemite with the most stunning view. Or countless times that Adalverto, Ricardo and I have spent hours and hours talking and playing games together. But the adventures are just a fraction of what these two friends mean to me. I love them so much and I know they'll always support me no matter what. Throughout my childhood my household suffered from domestic abuse. When I was a teenager, my mother had finally had enough and decided to get law enforcement involved. The court ordered that the house I was in was unsafe for me to be in. Thankfully I was able to stay with my friend Adalverto and I live with him for a time being. Every day was like a slumber party and we made many memories together. In the end I was able to return home to my mother but to this day I still make myself at home with Adalverto and his family. There was a time when I fell mentally ill due to my mental disorder and made a less than great decision. This decision caused me to lose my schooling, home, and family for a while. Fortunately, I was able to stay with Ricardo at his place in Merced, California while I worked to recover what I had lost. We worked hard to be able to pick up the piece and he was a big support in my return to my family. Since then I was able to raise my 1.8 GPA to a 3.25 GPA and was accepted into three different California State Universities. The day before the day of this writing my friend left to start his career in the Airforce. It was a bittersweet feeling but I know that this is just the beginning and there is still much to come! I am glad that I experienced every thing that has happened to me in my life because I wouldn't trade the bond with these two for the world! They are not just my friends, they are my forever family.