The last few years of my life have been an ongoing process to discover myself and what I really want out of life. Ten years ago my family experienced the tragic loss of my elder sister. Besides the difficult mourning process, I developed severe depression and inherited the responsibility to provide for my family. I dropped out of school and started a full-time job in general labor. As time went by, I started progressing on my depression and realized that looking at a park on my way to work was the highlight of my day. I started making the connection between my well-being and my time in green spaces. I thought to myself; how great it would be if I could create and design more spaces around the city for people to enjoy and be at peace. Promoting ecological practices and at the same time having regenerative and healing experiences for people. The healing process of my family and myself has been slow but steady, working at it every day. Finally strong enough to pursue my education, this Fall I was accepted to the Landscape Architecture program at the University of California in Berkeley. Many times I felt discouraged thinking that my only chance of higher education had vanished 10 years ago, but with the love and support of my family, I am able to be a re-entry student in Berkeley. I know my sister would be proud of me. As an underrepresented first-generation student, I feel there are many barriers to my success, especially economic, The Cat Zingano Overcoming Loss Scholarship would enable me to stay focused on my education and not have to worry about expenses.

I increased my elder’s family’s quality of life by providing innovative solutions that strengthen our family bonds by making it a family project where everyone could pitch in. The modifications made were: renewing flooring, installing rails, designing ramps, and lowering cabinets to accommodate elders reaching range. Building codes and ADA standards guided me on selecting the railings and flooring that best accommodate seniors as well as verifying slopes gradient and ensuring cabinet height was safe and in their reaching range. After the planning phase, I made a bill of materials and was able to incorporate other members of my family in the purchasing and building phase, as well as gathering the equipment to start the construction and installation. This was a very productive and rewarding project because my team of family members was very engaged in providing a solution that benefitted all, as well as working in our family relations. Improving the quality of life for my elders was essential for their safety and boosted their happiness through their living conditions as they were able to remain in their homes.

Canelo's First haircut! The before photo shows him happy enjoying the sun. The after photo shows him being silly sticking his tongue out. The 3rd photo is a reference photo of his natural look.

Among the most valuable pieces of advice, I have received is to make travel a priority. This is very difficult to achieve when you don't have the resources to sustain a traveler's lifestyle. Thanks to my hard work and determination I have been able to travel to different sites on my own. This has enabled incredible growth and resilience, I have learned respect, compassion, and tolerance. Diversity has made me understand different perspectives that I am grateful for.

I believe in the healing power of nature, therefore I am pursuing an education in Landscape Architecture in order to create spaces that integrate greenery into our everyday life. This will enable growth as an individual and as a society. I came to this conclusion when I was going through difficulty in my life. I became aware that nature helped me overcome my depression, it centered me and gave me a different perspective on my life and the circumstances I was going through. I believe this changed my life and this has the potential of changing other people's lives. I believe we should all have access to decent and humane living conditions that help us heal and thrive. Covid and the lockdown situation we lived in have solidified the urgency to provide habitats that are safe and nurturing. Landscape architecture is the science and art of creating, managing, and nurturing the built and natural environment, I believe today more than ever that this degree has relevancy, as an urban dweller I had no access to green spaces other than a park away from my commute. I had to build a green space on the corner of my apartment to be able to experience the earth and the beautiful development of plants, I feel the art of creating an ecosystem changed my life.