I am the first generation and first woman in my family to pursue college. Imperative to me as I know this will open opportunities for kids following my lead. Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, while mental health issues were present in my family, they were never discussed nor prioritized. Growing up, I saw first-hand how depression, anxiety, and substance abuse affected those closest to me. My family lost my father in my early teens due to his mental health and addiction. I hope to be a support system to others that can help through or prevent situations like what my family endured. Unfortunately, the reality of inaccessibility to mental health resources came to light being from a low-income family: there was limited access to resources, like therapy or psychiatry for us. My experience as a first-generation college student was rigorous. The application processes and the college experience as a whole were all trial and error because I had no one close to me who had been through that process to help guide me. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain a full-time serving job throughout the entirety of my college career while taking classes, gaining a variety of experiences within psychology, and volunteering at local agencies. Furthermore, I was able to continuously help my mother provide for my siblings back home and still graduated one year earlier than expected. I am proud to say I can now guide my siblings through their undergraduate degree, and they won't have to worry about doing it alone. During my undergraduate career, I engaged in experiences that gave me intimate knowledge of the field of Psychology. I went on to work for an ABA program as a behavioral technician for children with Autism. I valued the experience I gained from the Santa Cruz ABA company. It gave me a broader exposure to a younger demographic and a more profound understanding of some of the areas people with this diagnosis struggle with. I then became a psychosocial worker at a group home rehabilitation center for teenage boys struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Overall, this job has fed my passion for the psychology field because it has allowed me to be a positive factor in their journeys with sobriety, help them develop life skills, and be an overall support system. It has been very fulfilling to see how much progress can be made over 90 days. This experience has brought clarity in terms of my research interest and future career paths. I want to begin my research with a sample I have worked with intimately; those struggling with substance abuse. I have seen how important the roles of people above me in the program are because they can connect clients to beneficial resources based on their needs. I am inspired and motivated to be working for a company that provides a wide variety of services for low-income and local communities. My ultimate goal is to help more vulnerable populations and open doors for other first-generation college students following behind me. To this point in my life, I have been able to gain experience with children and adolescents with Down syndrome, Autism, substance abuse, and disorders such as depression. In the future, I hope to broaden my scope by working with a broader age demographic while gaining knowledge on human behavior. My participation in furthering my education is a necessary next step in enabling me to be helpful to a community I am passionate about supporting. Having financial help would help me bring these goals to fruition.

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, while mental health issues were present in my family, they were never discussed nor prioritized. Growing up, I saw first-hand how depression, anxiety, and substance abuse affected those closest to me. My family lost my father in my early teens due to his mental health and addiction. I hope to be a support system to others that can help through or prevent situations like what my family endured. Unfortunately, the reality of inaccessibility to mental health resources came to light being from a low-income family: there was limited access to resources, like therapy or psychiatry for us. My experience as a first-generation college student was rigorous. The application processes and the college experience as a whole were all trial and error because I had no one close to me who had been through that process to help guide me. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain a full-time serving job throughout the entirety of my college career while taking classes, gaining a variety of experiences within psychology, and volunteering at local agencies. Furthermore, I was able to continuously help my mother provide for my siblings back home and still graduated one year earlier than expected. I am proud to say I can now guide my siblings through their undergraduate degree, and they won't have to worry about doing it alone. During my undergraduate career, I engaged in experiences that gave me intimate knowledge of the field of Psychology. I went on to work for an ABA program as a behavioral technician for children with Autism. I valued the experience I gained from the Santa Cruz ABA company. It gave me a broader exposure to a younger demographic and a more profound understanding of some of the areas people with this diagnosis struggle with. I then became a psychosocial worker at a group home rehabilitation center for teenage boys struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Overall, this job has fed my passion for the psychology field because it has allowed me to be a positive factor in their journeys with sobriety, help them develop life skills, and be an overall support system. It has been very fulfilling to see how much progress can be made over 90 days. This experience has brought clarity in terms of my research interest and future career paths. I want to begin my research with a sample I have worked with intimately; those struggling with substance abuse. I have seen how important the roles of people above me in the program are because they can connect clients to beneficial resources based on their needs. I am inspired and motivated to be working for a company that provides a wide variety of services for low-income and local communities. My ultimate goal is to help more vulnerable populations and open doors for other first-generation college students following behind me. To this point in my life, I have been able to gain experience with children and adolescents with Down syndrome, Autism, substance abuse, and disorders such as depression. In the future, I hope to broaden my scope by working with a broader age demographic while gaining knowledge on human behavior. My participation in furthering my education is a necessary next step in enabling me to be helpful to a community I am passionate about supporting. Having financial help would help me bring these goals to fruition.

I am the first generation and first woman in my family to pursue college. Imperative to me as I know this will open opportunities for kids following my lead. Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, while mental health issues were present in my family, they were never discussed nor prioritized. Growing up, I saw first-hand how depression, anxiety, and substance abuse affected those closest to me. My family lost my father in my early teens due to his mental health and addiction. I hope to be a support system to others that can help through or prevent situations like what my family endured. Unfortunately, the reality of inaccessibility to mental health resources came to light being from a low-income family: there was limited access to resources, like therapy or psychiatry for us. My experience as a first-generation college student was rigorous. The application processes and the college experience as a whole were all trial and error because I had no one close to me who had been through that process to help guide me. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain a full-time serving job throughout the entirety of my college career while taking classes, gaining a variety of experiences within psychology, and volunteering at local agencies. Furthermore, I was able to continuously help my mother provide for my siblings back home and still graduated one year earlier than expected. I am proud to say I can now guide my siblings through their undergraduate degree, and they won't have to worry about doing it alone. During my undergraduate career, I engaged in experiences that gave me intimate knowledge of the field of Psychology. I went on to work for an ABA program as a behavioral technician for children with Autism. I valued the experience I gained from the Santa Cruz ABA company. It gave me a broader exposure to a younger demographic and a more profound understanding of some of the areas people with this diagnosis struggle with. I then became a psychosocial worker at a group home rehabilitation center for teenage boys struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Overall, this job has fed my passion for the psychology field because it has allowed me to be a positive factor in their journeys with sobriety, help them develop life skills, and be an overall support system. It has been very fulfilling to see how much progress can be made over 90 days. This experience has brought clarity in terms of my research interest and future career paths. I want to begin my research with a sample I have worked with intimately; those struggling with substance abuse. I have seen how important the roles of people above me in the program are because they can connect clients to beneficial resources based on their needs. I am inspired and motivated to be working for a company that provides a wide variety of services for low-income and local communities. My ultimate goal is to help more vulnerable populations and open doors for other first-generation college students following behind me. To this point in my life, I have been able to gain experience with children and adolescents with Down syndrome, Autism, substance abuse, and disorders such as depression. In the future, I hope to broaden my scope by working with a broader age demographic while gaining knowledge on human behavior. My participation in furthering my education is a necessary next step in enabling me to be helpful to a community I am passionate about supporting. Having financial help would help me bring these goals to fruition.

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, while mental health issues were present in my family, they were never discussed nor prioritized. Growing up, I saw first-hand how depression, anxiety, and substance abuse affected those closest to me. My family lost my father in my early teens due to his mental health and addiction. I hope to be a support system to others that can help through or prevent situations like what my family endured. Unfortunately, the reality of inaccessibility to mental health resources came to light being from a low-income family: there was limited access to resources, like therapy or psychiatry for us. My experience as a first-generation college student was rigorous. The application processes and the college experience as a whole were all trial and error because I had no one close to me who had been through that process to help guide me. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain a full-time serving job throughout the entirety of my college career while taking classes, gaining a variety of experiences within psychology, and volunteering at local agencies. Furthermore, I was able to continuously help my mother provide for my siblings back home and still graduated one year earlier than expected. I am proud to say I can now guide my siblings through their undergraduate degree, and they won't have to worry about doing it alone. During my undergraduate career, I engaged in experiences that gave me intimate knowledge of the field of Psychology. I went on to work for an ABA program as a behavioral technician for children with Autism. I valued the experience I gained from the Santa Cruz ABA company. It gave me a broader exposure to a younger demographic and a more profound understanding of some of the areas people with this diagnosis struggle with. I then became a psychosocial worker at a group home rehabilitation center for teenage boys struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Overall, this job has fed my passion for the psychology field because it has allowed me to be a positive factor in their journeys with sobriety, help them develop life skills, and be an overall support system. It has been very fulfilling to see how much progress can be made over 90 days. This experience has brought clarity in terms of my research interest and future career paths. I want to begin my research with a sample I have worked with intimately; those struggling with substance abuse. I have seen how important the roles of people above me in the program are because they can connect clients to beneficial resources based on their needs. I am inspired and motivated to be working for a company that provides a wide variety of services for low-income and local communities. My ultimate goal is to help more vulnerable populations and open doors for other first-generation college students following behind me. To this point in my life, I have been able to gain experience with children and adolescents with Down syndrome, Autism, substance abuse, and disorders such as depression. In the future, I hope to broaden my scope by working with a broader age demographic while gaining knowledge on human behavior. My participation in furthering my education is a necessary next step in enabling me to be helpful to a community I am passionate about supporting. Having financial help would help me bring these goals to fruition.

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family, while mental health issues were present in my family, they were never discussed nor prioritized. Growing up, I saw first-hand how depression, anxiety, and substance abuse affected those closest to me. My family lost my father in my early teens due to his mental health and addiction. I hope to be a support system to others that can help through or prevent situations like what my family endured. Unfortunately, the reality of inaccessibility to mental health resources came to light being from a low-income family: there was limited access to resources, like therapy or psychiatry for us. My experience as a first-generation college student was rigorous. The application processes and the college experience as a whole were all trial and error because I had no one close to me who had been through that process to help guide me. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain a full-time serving job throughout the entirety of my college career while taking classes, gaining a variety of experiences within psychology, and volunteering at local agencies. Furthermore, I was able to continuously help my mother provide for my siblings back home and still graduated one year earlier than expected. I am proud to say I can now guide my siblings through their undergraduate degree, and they won't have to worry about doing it alone. During my undergraduate career, I engaged in experiences that gave me intimate knowledge of the field of Psychology. I went on to work for an ABA program as a behavioral technician for children with Autism. I valued the experience I gained from the Santa Cruz ABA company. It gave me a broader exposure to a younger demographic and a more profound understanding of some of the areas people with this diagnosis struggle with. I then became a psychosocial worker at a group home rehabilitation center for teenage boys struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Overall, this job has fed my passion for the psychology field because it has allowed me to be a positive factor in their journeys with sobriety, help them develop life skills, and be an overall support system. It has been very fulfilling to see how much progress can be made over 90 days. This experience has brought clarity in terms of my research interest and future career paths. I want to begin my research with a sample I have worked with intimately; those struggling with substance abuse. I have seen how important the roles of people above me in the program are because they can connect clients to beneficial resources based on their needs. I am inspired and motivated to be working for a company that provides a wide variety of services for low-income and local communities. My ultimate goal is to help more vulnerable populations and open doors for other first-generation college students following behind me. To this point in my life, I have been able to gain experience with children and adolescents with Down syndrome, Autism, substance abuse, and disorders such as depression. In the future, I hope to broaden my scope by working with a broader age demographic while gaining knowledge on human behavior. My participation in furthering my education is a necessary next step in enabling me to be helpful to a community I am passionate about supporting. Having financial help would help me bring these goals to fruition.

Playlist Name: Getting through it Artist name: Hope 1. All Falls - Kanye 2.20 something -Sza 3. Everything is everything -Lauryn Hill 4. On & On - Erykah Badu 5. Swimming- Mac miller These songs are part of a short playlist of songs that feel like navigating through your twenties. I think they loosely capture the insecurities, trials, trials, tribulations, and experiences you go through as a first-generation college student. With my personal experience, I've struggled a lot navigating the college experience on my own, but I know it's something I have to push through. All these songs capture that 'getting through it' mood. The cover would be a picture of my dad, me, and my sister when we were younger to homage to my parents' struggles migrating to the U.S. and raising three children here. My dad emigrated from Korea, and my Mom from Mexico. My dad passed away when I was young; now that I'm in college, I feel like their hard work has come to fruition.