When I was younger, we lived in an apartment complex. The people in that apartment complex were like our extended family. They were also resources to navigating this new world. It was the neighbors who taught me to ride a bicycle, speak English, and fill out my first job application. After high school, I thought I couldn’t afford community college, until a neighbor told me about AB540, the California Assembly bill that made it possible for non-citizens to pay in state tuition. It was a neighbor who had taken a DACA workshop who taught me to fill out my renewal forms, for free so we wouldn't have to pay lawyer fees. They told me that it was our job to make sure our access was shared. For so long, knowledge and community were words that were almost synonymous in my mind. I knew that if I didn't have an answer, I could knock on someones’ door who would. In 2022, I worked at starbucks. We heard about partners in Buffalo, New York unionizing, and wanted to know how they did it and what obstacles they faced during the process. We had the idea to reach out to them via Twitter, and before we knew it we had group chats and zoom calls set up, sharing information from one side of the country to the other. With their help and the help of local community and labor organizers, we were able to win our union election, unanimously. Growing up in this country, doors are closed on us every day. For a single person, it can be made impossible to force that door open and slide through. When you have your community pushing with you, your strength is magnified. Each obstacle becomes lighter when the weight is shared. It’s important to realize that with community the gain is magnified as well, because one persons’ success spreads into the success of the community. I want to get my degree in Sociology and find my niche in community organizing, to give back into the knowledge that has built me into the person I am today. I know that the path I have been on is unconventional, but I’m grateful for every speed bump and renavigation I had to do, because they led me to opportunities to grow and learn to rely on and trust others. I know as I get older and gain more knowledge my role in my community will change, and I am excited to have more to give back with every lived experience.

When I was younger, I remember we lived in an apartment complex. The people in that apartment complex were more than just neighbors, they were our resources to navigating this new world. It was the neighbors who taught me to ride a bicycle, speak English, and fill out my first job application. After high school, I thought I couldn’t afford community college, until a neighbor told me about AB540, the California Assembly bill that made it possible for non-citizens to pay in state tuition. It was a neighbor who had taken a DACA workshop who taught me to fill out my renewal forms, for free so we wouldn't have to pay lawyer fees. They told me that it was our job to make sure our access was shared. For so long, knowledge and community were words that were almost synonymous in my mind. I knew that if I didn't have an answer, I could knock on someones’ door who would. In 2022, I worked at starbucks. We heard about partners in Buffalo, New York unionizing, and wanted to know how they did it and what obstacles they faced during the process. We had the idea to reach out to them via Twitter, and before we knew it we had group chats and zoom calls set up, sharing information from one side of the country to the other. With their help and the help of local community organizers, we were able to win our union election, unanimously. Growing up in this country, doors are closed on us every day. For a single person, it can be made impossible to force that door open and slide through. When you have your community pushing with you, your strength is magnified. Each obstacle becomes lighter when the weight is shared. It’s important to realize that with community the gain is magnified as well, because one persons’ success spreads into the success of the community. I want to get my degree in Sociology and find my niche in community organizing, to give back into the knowledge that has built me into the person I am today. I know that the path I have been on is unconventional, but I’m grateful for every speed bump and renavigation I had to do, because they led me to opportunities to grow and learn to rely on and trust others. I know as I get older and gain more knowledge my role in my community will change, and I am excited to have more to give back with every lived experience.

When I was younger, we lived in an apartment complex. The people in that apartment complex were our extended family. They were also resources to navigating this new world. It was the neighbors who taught me to ride a bicycle, speak English, and fill out my first job application. After high school, I thought I couldn’t afford community college, until a neighbor told me about AB540, the California Assembly bill that made it possible for non-citizens to pay in state tuition. It was a neighbor who had taken a DACA workshop who taught me to fill out my renewal forms, for free so we wouldn't have to pay lawyer fees. They told me that it was our job to make sure our access was shared. For so long, knowledge and community were words that were almost synonymous in my mind. I knew that if I didn't have an answer, I could knock on someones’ door who would. In 2022, I worked at starbucks. We heard about partners in Buffalo, New York unionizing, and wanted to know how they did it and what obstacles they faced during the process. We had the idea to reach out to them via Twitter, and before we knew it we had group chats and zoom calls set up, sharing information from one side of the country to the other. With their help and the help of local community and labor organizers, we were able to win our union election, unanimously. Growing up in this country, doors are closed on us every day. For a single person, it can be made impossible to force that door open and slide through. When you have your community pushing with you, your strength is magnified. Each obstacle becomes lighter when the weight is shared. It’s important to realize that with community the gain is magnified as well, because one persons’ success spreads into the success of the community. I want to get my degree in Sociology and find my niche in community organizing, to give back into the knowledge that has built me into the person I am today. I know that the path I have been on is unconventional, but I’m grateful for every speed bump and renavigation I had to do, because they led me to opportunities to grow and learn to rely on and trust others. I know as I get older and gain more knowledge my role in my community will change, and I am excited to have more to give back with every lived experience.