I was born in the U.S. to Mexican parents who have worked hard to be able to be here and to build a positive life for me and my brother. I received a strong academic foundation during my school years and benefited from being involved in a variety of extracurricular and leadership activities through my school, church, and neighborhood. My parents have been particularly diligent and sacrificing to provide us with opportunities to attend Christian leadership camps, develop musical skills, and do dance, sports, and other enrichment activities. This has been a great exposure and opportunity to explore what is possible and what I want to pursue through a future education and career. Pursuing higher education means a lot to me and my family. It is our dream and something we strived for during my entire school life. I want to honor the sacrifices that have been made for me and the vision that I was given through hard work and much investment. I want to pursue a career in nursing and become professionally certified to be able to help and care for others in meaningful ways. Helping others is rewarding and has always given me great joy. One day in seventh grade I was walking home from school with my parents and my aunt to the apartment complex we lived in at the time. While walking on a main road we witnessed an auto accident. A man was hit by a car while crossing the street. Knocked unconscious, he hit the pavement. My parents tried to assist but he died. It all happened very fast. I froze at the sight of blood everywhere and had to take a few minutes to process what had happened. After the police and firefighters arrived, I realized that I was not only the closest, direct witness along with my family but also the only one who could speak English and translate to the emergency services what had happened. This included describing the vehicle that drove away. My parents and aunt were nudging me to explain and give a description of the car that drove away without stopping. I realized I have more to offer to other people because I can help many different kinds of people through my experience. Due to my bilingual and multicultural family background, I am part of more than one community. This was a defining moment of awareness and something that later in my high school years solidified my interest in a nursing career. One of my favorite activities over the last two years has been the Youth Leadership Program at my high school. I was selected and recommended by two teachers and our counselors to be a mentor for struggling elementary and middle school students. This year I serve as the President of this student-led organization and together with our team of 26 students, we go out 4 days a week to four schools in our community. I am the only bilingual mentor so my assignments involve a lot of Spanish-speaking students but also any other students that may be struggling with school work or just needing to talk to someone safe about difficult emotional and social issues they are navigating at home. This scholarship will be instrumental in helping me with the cost of attending college and pursuing my dream. A career in nursing will provide me with training that will increase my capacity to be of service and support to people in extraordinary circumstances that may involve some of their most vulnerable and difficult moments.