I am both a first-generation college student and a middle school dropout. Neither of my parents graduated college. My mother went for a little while before having to withdraw due to finances and my father grew up in Mexico and didn't have access to education. As a teenager, I could not attend school due to finances. I had to help my family by taking the place of my father at only 14 years old. He was hit by a truck, hospitalized, then mysteriously left the country and returned to Mexico. He was an illegal immigrant, and it is believed that he was deported, though no one was ever able to confirm this. Because of my predicament, I never thought I would be able to go to college. There have been many challenges that I have overcome on my journey, but I stayed persistent and motivated. I, now as an adult, have a full-time job as I complete my degree. I am a full-time student, financially responsible for my elderly mother, and advocate for children's rights in my free time. It is extremely rewarding, but also exhausting and stressful. I deeply care about my grades as well as my job and family responsibilities. My own academic journey has inspired me so much. It has made me realize that education is not something that is reserved for a few lucky people. I was always smart enough to go to college, and I was always able to handle the workload. I just never realized it. Even as I started my journey, I doubted myself so much, but the right professors put the belief in my head that every goal I had was in reach. Without having these people shift my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, I would've never tried. Because of this, I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life doing that same thing for other people who don't believe in themselves. I want to be an educator. I want to spend the rest of my life helping students who do not believe in themselves, or find it hard to achieve academic success, the way I did. I want to be the person that I needed when I was a child. I will not only help students reach their academic goals but also be a safe space for children who may be going through hardships at home. I want to be part of the reason someone graduates. In my classroom, there will be no place for judgement, and I will do my best to create an inclusive environment that is also free from AI. To accomplish this goal, I am transferring to the University of South Carolina this fall and obtaining a bachelor's degree before starting my first teaching job that will be in an elementary school and in time, I will obtain a master's degree and move on to teaching higher grades. Being the first in my family to obtain a degree would inspire many of my cousins to continue pursuing their education. I hope to be able to reach students in many phases of life, and my dream wouldn't be possible without the support I have received. Receiving any scholarships at all would make my goals easier to reach and allow me to spend more time studying. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even considering me for a scholarship

I am both a first-generation college student and a middle school dropout. As a teenager, I could not attend school due to finances. I had to help my family by taking the place of my father at only 14 years old. He was hit by a truck, hospitalized, then mysteriously left the country and returned to Mexico. He was an illegal immigrant, and it is believed that he was deported, though no one was ever able to confirm this. Because of my predicament, I never thought I would be able to go to college. There have been many challenges that I have overcome on my journey, but I stayed persistent and motivated. I, now as an adult, have a full-time job as I complete my degree. I am a full-time student, financially responsible for my elderly mother, and advocate for children's rights in my free time. It is extremely rewarding, but also exhausting and stressful. I deeply care about my grades as well as my job and family responsibilities. My own academic journey has inspired me so much. It has made me realize that education is not something that is reserved for a few lucky people. I was always smart enough to go to college, and I was always able to handle the workload. I just never realized it. Even as I started my journey, I doubted myself so much, but the right professors put the belief in my head that every goal I had was in reach. Without having these people shift my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, I would've never tried. Because of this, I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life doing that same thing for other people who don't believe in themselves. I want to be an educator. I want to spend the rest of my life helping students who do not believe in themselves, or find it hard to achieve academic success, the way I did. I want to be the person that I needed when I was a child. I will not only help students reach their academic goals but also be a safe space for children who may be going through hardships at home. I want to be part of the reason someone graduates. In my classroom, there will be no place for judgement, and I will do my best to create an inclusive environment that is also free from AI. To accomplish this goal, I am transferring to the University of South Carolina this fall and obtaining a bachelor's degree before starting my first teaching job that will be in an elementary school and in time, I will obtain a master's degree and move on to teaching higher grades. I hope to be able to reach students in many phases of life, and my dream wouldn't be possible without the support I have received. Receiving any scholarships at all would make my goals easier to reach and allow me to spend more time studying. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even considering me for a scholarship

I am both a first-generation college student and a middle school dropout. As a teenager, I could not attend school due to finances. I had to help my family by taking the place of my father at only 14 years old. He was hit by a truck, hospitalized, then mysteriously left the country and returned to Mexico. He was an illegal immigrant, and it is believed that he was deported, though no one was ever able to confirm this. Because of my predicament, I never thought I would be able to go to college. There have been many challenges that I have overcome on my journey, but I stayed persistent and motivated. I, now as an adult, have a full-time job as I complete my degree. I am a full-time student, financially responsible for my elderly mother, and advocate for children's rights in my free time. It is extremely rewarding, but also exhausting and stressful. I deeply care about my grades as well as my job and family responsibilities. My own academic journey has inspired me so much. It has made me realize that education is not something that is reserved for a few lucky people. I was always smart enough to go to college, and I was always able to handle the workload. I just never realized it. Even as I started my journey, I doubted myself so much, but the right professors put the belief in my head that every goal I had was in reach. Without having these people shift my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, I would've never tried. Because of this, I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life doing that same thing for other people who don't believe in themselves. I want to be an educator. I want to spend the rest of my life helping students who do not believe in themselves, or find it hard to achieve academic success, the way I did. I want to be the person that I needed when I was a child. I will not only help students reach their academic goals but also be a safe space for children who may be going through hardships at home. I want to be part of the reason someone graduates. In my classroom, there will be no place for judgement, and I will do my best to create an inclusive environment that is also free from AI. To accomplish this goal, I am transferring to the University of South Carolina this fall and obtaining a bachelor's degree before starting my first teaching job that will be in an elementary school and in time, I will obtain a master's degree and move on to teaching higher grades. I hope to be able to reach students in many phases of life, and my dream wouldn't be possible without the support I have received. Receiving any scholarships at all would make my goals easier to reach and allow me to spend more time studying. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even considering me for a scholarship.

I am both a first-generation college student and a middle school dropout. As a teenager, I could not attend school due to finances. I had to help my family by taking the place of my father at only 14 years old. He was hit by a truck, hospitalized, then mysteriously left the country and returned to Mexico. He was an illegal immigrant, and it is believed that he was deported, though no one was ever able to confirm this. Because of my predicament, I never thought I would be able to go to college. There have been many challenges that I have overcome on my journey, but I stayed persistent and motivated. I, now as an adult, have a full-time job as I complete my degree. I am a full-time student, financially responsible for my elderly mother, and advocate for children's rights in my free time. It is extremely rewarding, but also exhausting and stressful. I deeply care about my grades as well as my job and family responsibilities. My own academic journey has inspired me so much. It has made me realize that education is not something that is reserved for a few lucky people. I was always smart enough to go to college, and I was always able to handle the workload. I just never realized it. Even as I started my journey, I doubted myself so much, but the right professors put the belief in my head that every goal I had was in reach. Without having these people shift my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, I would've never tried. Because of this, I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life doing that same thing for other people who don't believe in themselves. I want to be an educator. I want to spend the rest of my life helping students who do not believe in themselves, or find it hard to achieve academic success, the way I did. I want to be the person that I needed when I was a child. I will not only help students reach their academic goals but also be a safe space for children who may be going through hardships at home. I want to be part of the reason someone graduates. In my classroom, there will be no place for judgement, and I will do my best to create an inclusive environment that is also free from AI. To accomplish this goal, I am transferring to the University of South Carolina this fall and obtaining a bachelor's degree before starting my first teaching job that will be in an elementary school and in time, I will obtain a master's degree and move on to teaching higher grades. I hope to be able to reach students in many phases of life, and my dream wouldn't be possible without the support I have received. Receiving any scholarships at all would make my goals easier to reach and allow me to spend more time studying. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even considering me for a scholarship.

I am both a first-generation college student and a middle school dropout. As a teenager, I could not attend school due to finances. I had to help my family by taking the place of my father at only 14 years old. He was hit by a truck, hospitalized, then mysteriously left the country and returned to Mexico. He was an illegal immigrant, and it is believed that he was deported, though no one was ever able to confirm this. Because of my predicament, I never thought I would be able to go to college. There have been many challenges that I have overcome on my journey, but I stayed persistent and motivated. I, now as an adult, have a full-time job as I complete my degree. I am a full-time student, financially responsible for my elderly mother, and advocate for children's rights in my free time. It is extremely rewarding, but also exhausting and stressful. I deeply care about my grades as well as my job and family responsibilities. My own academic journey has inspired me so much. It has made me realize that education is not something that is reserved for a few lucky people. I was always smart enough to go to college, and I was always able to handle the workload. I just never realized it. Even as I started my journey, I doubted myself so much, but the right professors put the belief in my head that every goal I had was in reach. Without having these people shift my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, I would've never tried. Because of this, I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life doing that same thing for other people who don't believe in themselves. I want to be an educator. I want to spend the rest of my life helping students who do not believe in themselves, or find it hard to achieve academic success, the way I did. I want to be the person that I needed when I was a child. I will not only help students reach their academic goals but also be a safe space for children who may be going through hardships at home. I want to be part of the reason someone graduates. In my classroom, there will be no place for judgement, and I will do my best to create an inclusive environment that is also free from AI. To accomplish this goal, I am transferring to the University of South Carolina this fall and obtaining a bachelor's degree before starting my first teaching job that will be in an elementary school and in time, I will obtain a master's degree and move on to teaching higher grades. I hope to be able to reach students in many phases of life, and my dream wouldn't be possible without the support I have received. Receiving any scholarships at all would make my goals easier to reach and allow me to spend more time studying. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even considering me for a scholarship.