In October 2019, I had an accident that forced me to be in a wheelchair for three weeks. After a heavy door was dropped over my legs, I was obligated to stop with my usual activities, I got behind in most of my classes, close to having Loss of Credit due to absences since I had doctor's appointments and physical therapy. This situation got me depressed because I did not feel the support from those I once thought I could count on; it was very hard to see my legs completely inflamed, with hematomas everywhere and blood clots. From this situation, I learned to put limits on myself but overall, it made me stronger and brave, I realized that I could keep on going through any circumstance as long as I have my family's unconditional support. That hard hit that I received for being in the wrong time and place showed me how vulnerable we are and how life can change in a second. I understood that in order to be healthy physically you have to be healthy mentally and emotionally, sometimes you have to leave places and people you may think are worth your time to find your real value. I am someone who is always working for what I want and I do not stop until I accomplish it. Today here I am, standing up, being part of my generation's top 10% in the largest high school in town.

I am a persevering and highly responsible person, empathic with social causes, and have the ability to adapt to demanding tasks at hand. I would like to do scientific research due to the significant contribution I can provide in helping others as a Ph.D. Working to serve and give something back to my community through my volunteering has shown me the medical need in the El Paso community. My prospective goal is to become a neurologist, as I find the human brain and its behavioral attributes fascinating. This has motivated me to participate in many platforms that have allowed me to support people-- medically and socially. However, by becoming a research scientist in a biomedical field, I am given the opportunity to work with others that might have similar goals in mind-- to improve human health; as well as learning the primary methods and scientific techniques that will set a foundation to propel my future aspirations as a Ph.D. My family, more specifically, my mother lives in Mexico; therefore, her salary is in Mexican pesos, which converted to dollars gives an equal of 300 dollars monthly and 3,600 dollars annually. With this amount of money, our family is able to live at a medium level but it is not enough in order to save money for my college education. On my father's side, he has another family that he has to take care of, and for that reason, he is only able to give me 20 dollars weekly. Therefore, this scholarship would mean a lot to me in order to continue with my education. Volunteering has been a priority in which I can help my borderland community and give back to those who are in most need. My first volunteering experience involved my church group. Some of the activities enveloped going to nursing homes and visiting orphanages. However, that was definitely not the end of my community service, since I joined the Mexican Red Cross. I decided to start focusing on a way in which I could help others, while at the same time learning new things. I learned theory, history, first aids, etc., and all of the knowledge I was getting was also being used to help others. Through activities in public spaces, we would give overall health checks to the people who would come nearby without having them pay anything, only using the resources we had, and they were always planned with weeks of anticipation in order to give everyone a good service and correct information. These were usually planned by me since I was my group leader. After giving my service for two years in the Mexican Red Cross, my health started to be harmed, so I was found in the need to leave.

I am a persevering and highly responsible person, empathic with social causes, and have the ability to adapt to demanding tasks at hand. I would like to do scientific research due to the significant contribution I can provide in helping others as a Ph.D. Working to serve and give something back to my community through my volunteering has shown me the medical need in the El Paso community. My prospective goal is to become a neurologist, as I find the human brain and its behavioral attributes fascinating. This has motivated me to participate in many platforms that have allowed me to support people-- medically and socially. However, by becoming a research scientist in a biomedical field, I am given the opportunity to work with others that might have similar goals in mind-- to improve human health; as well as learning the primary methods and scientific techniques that will set a foundation to propel my future aspirations as a Ph.D.

1. SHEIN, is an application where they sell decorations for the house, clothes, shoes, among many other things, and my parents and I really enjoy shopping through it because is fast and cheap. 2. Uber Eats, is an efficient way to get food to the door of my house, especially now because of the hard times that we are going through. 3. Amazon, I enjoy reading books, and Amazon is the perfect website to buy books online.

My whole life I have started my own small businesses. When I was little, I would make "popcorn balls" and sell them for one dollar. I guess it all started there. Having little businesses have always made me realize and appreciate all of the efforts that my parents do for me to have the life that I have and to accomplish everything that I propose to myself. Today, I have my own store called "L.A. Accessories." It is a store where you can find bucket hats, accessories, earrings, among many other things. My mom then decided to be part of my project and included her lingerie business called "Cosas de Mujeres Lenceria," in English meaning "Women's Things Lingerie." She started with her lingerie businesses almost three years again, but together, this has been a project that we have been working on for now almost one year. It is fun to have this with my mom, she has always taught me to be an enterprising woman, she has taught me the responsibility, the hard work, and dedication that you have to put in day by day. Today, our store is closed since we are going through a global pandemic and we do not sell "first necessity" products, but we started or international shipping which has allowed us to reach more people and more people have gotten to know us. Definitely, this has always been a part of me, and I hope that in the same way that my mom showed me, supported me, and pushed me to try my best and work for what I want, I can teach my future kids.

In October 2019, I had an accident that forced me to be in a wheelchair for about three weeks. One person dropped a heavy door over my legs and that obligated me to stop with my usual activities, as well as be behind in most of my classes and be close to having Loss of Credit due to absences since I had to be with doctors and until today, still in physical therapy. This situation got me depressed because I did not feel the support of the people I once thought I could count with; it was very hard to see my legs completely inflamed, with hematomas everywhere and blood clots. From this situation, I learned to put limits on myself and helped me to find the value of real friends but overall, it made me stronger and brave, I realized that I could keep on going in any circumstance. That hard hit that I received for being in the wrong time and place showed me how vulnerable we are and that life can change in a second because even now, a year later, I still have consequences for it, but I also learned that in order to be healthy physically you have to be healthy mentally and emotionally, sometimes you have to leave places and people you may think are worth your time to find your real value. My family, my parents were always there for me, the family support is unconditional. Like one of my favorite songs says, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Always remember, it depends on you to keep on moving forward and fight for what you want. Today here I am, standing up, being part of my class' top 10% and willing to become a neurologist.

In October 2019, I had an accident that forced me to be in a wheelchair for about three weeks. One person dropped a heavy door over my legs and that obligated me to stop with my usual activities, as well as be behind in most of my classes and be close to having Loss of Credit due to absences since I had to be with doctors and until today, still in physical therapy. This situation got me depressed because I did not feel the support of the people I once thought I could count with; it was very hard to see my legs completely inflamed, with hematomas everywhere and blood clots. From this situation, I learned to put limits on myself and helped me to find the value of real friends but overall, it made me stronger and brave, I realized that I could keep on going in any circumstance. That hard hit that I received for being in the wrong time and place showed me how vulnerable we are and that life can change in a second because even now, a year later, I still have consequences for it, but I also learned that in order to be healthy physically you have to be healthy mentally and emotionally, sometimes you have to leave places and people you may think are worth your time to find your real value. My family, my parents were always there for me, the family support is unconditional. Like one of my favorite songs says, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Always remember, it depends on you to keep on moving forward and fight for what you want. Today here I am, standing up, being part of my class' top 10% and willing to become a neurologist. My goal in life is to become a neurologist, due to the fact that I find fascinating the behavior of the human brain. By being a doctor, I am given the opportunity to serve and give something back to my community through volunteering and community service, which has always been a part of my life.

My goal in life is to become a neurologist, due to the fact that I find fascinating the behavior of the human brain. By being a doctor, I am given the opportunity to serve and give something back to my community through volunteering and community service, which has always been a part of my life. My first volunteering experiences were with my church group. Going to nursing homes and visiting orphanages were two of my favorite activities. Once I left my church group that was definitely not the end of my community service, nor my volunteering, since I joined the Mexican Red Cross, I decided to start focusing on a way in which I could help others, while at the same time learning new things. I learned theory, history, first aids, etc., and all of the knowledge I was getting was also being used to help others, through activities in public spaces where we would give overall health checks to the people who would come nearby without having them pay anything, it was with the resources we had and this was always planned with weeks of anticipation in order to give everyone a good service and correct information, these were usually planned by me since I was my group leader. After giving my service for two years in the Mexican Red Cross, my health started to be harmed, so I was found in the need to leave. Leaving the Mexican Red Cross definitely had an impact on me and made me go into a different stage of my life, beauty pageants. Becoming a model, becoming “a beauty queen” may sound egocentric at first but once you are inside of that world, you start realizing that it is not that way. This was a radical change, but I still had the opportunity to help out and give to my community. As Teen Universe Juarez 2019, I started my projects, “Por Una Vida Verde” and “Todos Contra Cancer.” “Por Una Vida Verde,” is a project with which I invited my community to be active in helping out the environment through recycling. However, this worked together with “Todos Contra Cancer.” My general project consisted of collecting cans, water bottles, and bottle caps; the water bottles would always be recycled, while the cans and the bottle caps were donated to an institution in charge of helping out kids that have been diagnosed with Cancer and Leukemia, all of these with the only objective of raising funds in order to help these kids, always with my initiative and the help of my community. I consider the two words that define me the most are "responsible" and "perseverant," because I am someone who is always working for what I want and do not stop until I accomplish it, like being part of the top 10% of my class in the largest high school in town. “It’s not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts” -MTC.

Usually, we are asked what is more important, if the goal or the path we have to take in order to get to it. I personally consider that both of them are important since, to get to that goal, it is necessary to travel and pursue the path, in which you learn day by day something new but that without a doubt teaches you and makes you stronger. I believe that with perseverance, you accomplish the way without giving up on it, and once you finish it, you happily look back and realize that now you are a stronger person, that you are more mature, and that now you are prepared to enjoy the accomplishment. Just like Antonio Machado, a universal Spanish poet once said, "Walker there is no path, you make the path as you go."

Many times we are asked, "what is the first thing you look at when you first meet a person?" Well, personally the first thing that I notice in a person, is their teeth. I think that more than anything, teeth are something that show a lot about an individual's personality, about an individual's hygiene, and what is better than having a nice smile? Definitely, if I were to practice something inside the dental field that would be my first motivation. The opportunity to give someone a nice smile, to allow them to be happy and not ashamed of smiling. "Your smile is your best accessory," they say, then let's enjoy that accessory as much as possible!

Community service and volunteering have always been a part of my life. My first volunteering experiences were with my church group with multiple activities. Going to nursing homes was one of my favorite activities, always having the opportunity to get a smile out of the seniors, and give the elderly a weekend that they were able to enjoy, and at the same time giving them economic support through donations. Another one of my favorite activities was visiting orphanages, spending time with the kids, playing with them, as well as giving them clothes that they could use, toys that they could play with, taking them food pantries, among many other things. Once I left my church group that was definitely not the end of my community service, nor my volunteering, since I decided to join the Mexican Red Cross, I decided to start focusing on a way in which I could help others, while at the same time learning new things. I learned theory, history, first aids, etc., and all of the knowledge I was getting was also being used to help others, through activities in public spaces where we would give an overall health check to the people who would come nearby without having them pay anything, it was with the resources we had and this was always planned with weeks of anticipation (usually by me since I was the leader of my group) in order to give everyone a good service and correct information. After giving my service for two years in the Mexican Red Cross every Saturday and every Sunday, my health started to be harmed due to the fact that they would be long journeys, sometimes without sleeping, sometimes without eating anything but an energy bar, so I was found in the need to leave. Leaving the Mexican Red Cross definitely had an impact on my life and made me go into a different stage of my life, beauty pageants. Becoming a model, becoming “a beauty queen” may sound egocentric at first but once you are inside of that world, you start realizing that it is not that way, it is much more. As a beauty queen, you have to be able to always give back to your community, while still looking impeccable (very different than in the Red Cross, where it did not matter if you were sweaty or not). This was a radical change, but I still had the opportunity to help out and give to my community. As Teen Universe Ciudad Juarez 2019, I started my projects, “Por Una Vida Verde” and “Todos con Apanical.” “Por Una Vida Verde,” is a project with which I invited my community to be active in helping out the environment through recycling, I picked this specific project because pollution is a topic that really interests me and that we usually do not pay attention to. However, this worked together with “Today con Apanical.” My general project consisted of separating all the cans, water bottles, and bottle caps into different sections; the water bottles would always be recycled and sent to a recycler, while the bottle cans and the bottle caps would be donated to “Apanical,” an institution in charge of helping out kids that have been diagnosed with Cancer and Leukemia. The cans donation was named “Lataton,” and the bottle caps collection “Tapaton,” with the only objective of raising funds in order to help these kids and the amazing organization of “Apanical,” always with my initiative and the help of my community. Furthermore, last year I was part of the Forensics Club at Montwood High School, where I also gained a lot of experience in community service, covering football games, helping with traffic control at Montwood High School, and as always, giving back to my community. While this year, despite the pandemic we are living in, I have found ways to still give back to my community. I decided to start this semester with the best attitude, even though we would have online classes, and took the initiative to give out school supplies to those who did not have the opportunity to purchase their own; school supplies such as backpacks, pencils, colors, notebooks, scissors, glues, among many other things. However, I do not plan on leaving it there, on the contrary, I want to do more. This year I am still going to continue with my project even though my year as Teen Universe Juarez has ended, I still have a community supporting me to collect more and more cans and bottle caps, is us together in order to help more families and more kids afford the treatments they need. As well as while the holidays approach, my family and I will “adopt” a family of low-income, since we know our country is going through a crisis, we have decided to help them with blankers and clothes, as well as bring them dinner for them to spend the holidays in the best wat possible. I definitely know that what I can do and give is not a lot, but I believe that for change to happen, it has to start with one’s self. If I have the opportunity to help, I will always look for a way to give something back to my community. I truly believe that change starts with ourselves and I would like to conclude with two of my favorite quotes from my role model, Mother Teresa of Calcutta; “It’s not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts,” and “El que no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir,” meaning in English that those who do not live to serve, do not serve to live.