As the daughter of two Mexican immigrants who moved to the United States in order to escape poverty and crime, I heard a lot of stories about their lives back home. There were countless stories where they described the winters when they would go hungry with no money to get food. There were also stories of neighbors and other family friends who were subjected to painful deaths due to a lack of medicine or hospitals nearby. Hearing these stories as a child piqued my interest in helping others - especially those less fortunate than me. This interest turned into a passion during my high school years. During these years, I volunteered at donation events at my church for the local shelters. I also helped a close friend organize a donation event for single mothers and young women in Spartanburg. I loved being able to see the reactions of the people we were helping. I specifically remember one young lady who I met through a donation event at my church. She was crying tears of joy because she couldn’t remember the last time she was able to wear winter clothes that kept her warm during the cold nights. It was precious moments like these that fueled my passion to continue to work and help those who were less fortunate. During my first semester here at Clemson University, I saw a flyer as I was waiting for the elevators that interested me. It was a flyer for the CEDC - Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries. CEDC is an organization whose mission is to work with communities to develop sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life through interdisciplinary student-led initiatives. CEDC focuses on helping Guatemala, Haiti, and South Carolina - each of which has distinct goals regarding the development of sustainable lives. I signed up for the organization as soon as I could. There, I was introduced to other people who have the same passion as me. There were different projects you could commit to; such as developing an accessible water filter for low-resource communities, increasing broadband access in South Carolina, developing solar arrays for two different sites in South Carolina, and many other projects. After much thought, I decided to commit to the Azacualpa project. The mission of Azacualpa resonated with me for multiple reasons - but mainly because I will be able to directly help the people that I had heard so many stories about from my parents. Although they were from a different country, the struggles that my parents and the people in Azacualpa face are very similar. CEDC partnered with the Central University of Zacapa (CUNZAC) to empower the village in Guatemala to address the challenges facing the community and improve their overall quality of life. Being able to work with Azacuapla has contributed greatly to my growth in leadership and humanitarian skills, as well as cross-cultural engagement. It has also turned me into a better and smarter problem solver. Although our efforts are still in their prime, the project members are being broken up into teams in order to successfully tackle multiple problems. My team is focusing on facing the health problems of the community, such as malnutrition, water, and foodborne diseases, zoonoses, and psychological and chronic diseases. This will greatly contribute to my personal development as it relates heavily to what I will be doing as a bioengineer once I graduate - tackling health and biological problems from the viewpoint of an engineer. I am forever grateful to my parents who fueled my passion for helping those less fortunate than me. I cannot wait to see what my team and CEDC accomplish these next few years in efforts to develop sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life of people in lesser-fortunate communities. Being able to ease the struggles of people who face similar challenges to what my parents and countless others have faced is my greatest goal.

Growing up, almost every kid had a role model - Super Man, Wonder Woman, Remy the rat from Ratatouille, among many others. These were key figures for many growing up, often shaping people into who they are today. While most teenagers these days may look up to social media influencers, music artists, or many other different people, I look up to my old high school AVID teacher, Mrs. Usry. During my senior year in high school, I went through what may have been the darkest moment in my life thus far - my mom passed away after battling countless diseases for 17+ years. This was a time where I felt the lowest. I was beginning to lose interest in school and started debating on even going to college. I felt as if there was nothing else in the world for me anymore. However, this was the time that I started getting closer to Mrs. Usry. She was a new teacher at my school that year. We barely knew each other personally. I still remember the email she had sent me the day after my mom passed away: "I just got word that your mom passed away yesterday. I am so sorry to hear about her passing. My heart aches for you. [...] You have a second family here at SCECHS and we will help. Please know I am sending you a huge hug. -Amy Usry" This was the moment that I felt like we connected. No other teacher had made the effort to reach out to me. Mrs. Usry never HAD to email me - she chose to. From that moment on, she became the reason I was able to persevere and graduate high school at the top of my class and continue my education at Clemson University. She assisted me with the college application process, helped me with FAFSA, proofread all my essays, everything I could have ever thought of, all while being a high school teacher and taking care of her own family. Her dedication to others was something that truly inspired me and helped me keep pushing through despite the circumstances. She shaped me into a better person. Not only did she help me academically, but she also helped me mentally and physically. She would often check up on how I was feeling which was something that meant so much at the moment. Mrs. Usry is one of the reasons that I try to be selfless when it comes to checking on others. She is also the reason that I was able to attend my dream college - Clemson University. She helped shape me into the woman I am today: a selfless, studious, persevering, curious woman. She faced countless battles as well - sometimes even in the classroom - but she persevered and still wanted the best for each and every one of her students. She cared for everyone immensely. Her strength did not go unnoticed. Rather, Mrs. Usry's strength inspired me and countless others to keep on going in the darkest of times. It is for these reasons that Mrs. Usry is MY role model - the person I look up to. I want to be that light for someone one day. I want to show someone the same endless support and care that she showed me one day. She inspires me to be the best version of myself that I can. When I am an adult, I wish to be able to show Mrs. Usry's dedication, strength, love, and passion towards others and everything I do.

Fun fact: I am 19 years old and DON'T know how to swim!! I did something BOLD this past weekend and went kayaking for the first time! I've never done this before due to not knowing how to swim. This time was different though! I strapped on my life jacket and hoped for the best. However, it all went smoothly! Thankfully, I didn't have to resort to using my life jacket. It was definitely scary but I was able to be bold and push through with it!

Personal finance is very important no matter where you are in life. There are many different ways to inform yourself about personal finance and its importance. One way I like to learn about it is from Katie Swanson, better known as Coupon Katie. She is an amazing influencer who is active on YouTube and TikTok. Both my parents and I keep up with her and have applied her secrets to score good deals for many daily essentials. Another person I turn to for financial advice is YouTuber, CleverGirlFinance. She has free resources for people to use and also posts interviews with experts! One aspect of her channel that makes her stand out compared to other influencers is that she uses her platform to stand up against the gender pay gap and racial injustice. Finally, I personally use the Mint app to make better budgeting choices and keep track of my spending. Not only is it free, but it can keep track of bills, set budgets, and also alert users when they have exceeded their spending maximum. Plus, they also provide free credit score checks and monitoring - which is especially important for students who are trying to built their scores.

Without a doubt, my greatest achievement was making the decision to go to college in the 9th grade. Now, I know what you're thinking - how is it possible that a high school freshman can attend college? I thought the same too whenever I was first introduced to the program. In my 8th-grade year, my guidance counselor mentioned that she had recommended me to an early college high school program at a nearby community college. This program was designed to help low-income, minority students graduate high school with both a high school diploma, an Associate of Arts degree, and up to 80 transferrable college credits - all of this throughout one's high school career. I decided to go through with the application, filing paperwork, getting recommendations, attending interviews, writing essays - the whole nine yards. And as a result of all my hard work, I got accepted. I was a college student before I had even stepped foot onto a high school campus. The next four years were unforgettable. I was chosen along with 24 other students from middle schools across Spartanburg county to attend Spartanburg Community College and work towards an Associate of Arts degree at the tender age of fourteen. It was definitely not what I had set it out to be in the beginning. At first, I remember thinking "How much different could this possibly be compared to what I've been doing in my honors classes back in middle school?" Looking back now, I wish I knew what I know now. Throughout the four years, there were nights filled with studying, writing 2000 word essays, making finishing touches on powerpoints, making college decisions and so much more. I made unforgettable bonds with the other students there. We all struggled alongside one another and our bonds were unbreakable. Even after graduating, I still keep in close contact with my nineteen classmates I graduated alongside. There were countless lessons that I learned, whether it be personal, about society, about others, academics, and so many others. However, there were a few that made lasting impacts on me. One of the greatest lessons I learned through this achievement is to take risks - not only in academics but in life in general. True, getting out of one's comfort zone can be hard, but it can lead to so many new opportunities and experiences that you may have otherwise missed. Even if it's something as simple as pushing myself to be active, I feel like a better person each time. Another lesson I learned about myself is that being authentic to myself is the best thing I can offer not only myself but others as well. It's easy to try and make a persona, hidden in a fake personality or fancy clothes, however, it is so much better to be yourself. People want true people. They want to talk to someone who is genuine, not someone who is faking their lives. One thing I hope to achieve in the future is to make my parents proud of me. They risked their lives coming to this country in order to promise me a better quality of life and a better education. I want to pursue an education as a way to thank them for their sacrifices and all the struggles that they went through. Another thing I hope to achieve in the future is to build a strong portfolio and earn a good position with my bioengineering major. Regardless of where I end up, I want to put forth my all to make the world a better place, one person at a time. And lastly, perhaps my most important goal for the future is to show young Hispanic girls that they can do whatever they put their minds to. No one can stop us