Being a DACA student has come with plently of challenges, one example of this is not being able to receive financial aid. Not being eligible for FASFA has created a financial strain on me and my family. Not to mention most scholarships are very competitive, and even though I apply to scholarships every year, I don't always recieve the financial help I need. I come from a pay check to pay check family, and we have always worked hard for what we wanted. I remember being in high school and stressing about how I was going to pay for college due to our finances. I looked up so many programs, scholarships, grants, and loans for DACA students like myself. There was hardly anything that could help me in my education journey. Even today I can hardly find anything due to not being eligible for FASFA, not eligible for loans, or some scholarships not being eligible for my state or colleges that I could afford. I have tried to overcome these financial struggles by maintaining a job and going to college full-time. It has not been easy, and there has been plenty of times where managing school and work has seemed impossible. In the future, after I graduate I hope to start my own business and encourage more Hispanic women to lead in business. I also hope to start my own foundation and give scholarships to students like me. Seeing how hard my parents have worked in this country to give us a better life has taught me a lot. It taught me how to be a leader, how to be independent, and how to work hard for what I want. I am proud to be a first-generation college student, and the life lessons that I’ve learned throughout my whole life is something I will forever be grateful for. Even though we’ve always been a paycheck-to-paycheck family with not much to set aside to save, we always had each other. Getting my degree and finishing college is one of the ways that I can give back to my parents and say thank you for all of the sacrifices that they have made for me along the way. Being a Hispanic woman that's a first-generation college student and a DACA student, and coming from an immigrant family feels like the education system is not set up to help us. I hope that I can graduate with my degree so I can carry this legacy with me. I hope I can inspire other young Hispanic women like me to go get their degree, and that it's okay to let yourself aspire to reach your goals.

My name is Michelle, and I am a first generation college student. My parents immigrated from Mexico and brought me over to the US when I was just a baby. I grew up in a small town in New Market Alabama, and I could never thank my parents enough for everything they have done for me. I have had the pleasure to grow up here, and my parents have always made sure my younger brother and I always had anything we needed. However, everything has come with its challenges, and sadly many Hispanic families have had similar experiences. Growing up we never had much, but my parents always worked hard to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Throughout my childhood I was always the translator for my parents. I remember being 10 years old and having to go with my parents to the doctors office to translate for them, or the time I had to go to the bank with them when they first opened up their bank accounts. I didn’t grow up with any Hispanic kids my age so I always felt so different being the only Hispanic in my class. I never realized how hard my parents worked all the time to keep us going, until I got older. It’s crazy to think that my parents were two twenty year olds with their new baby, and decided to leave everything behind, including their families to come to a country that spoke a totally different language and were able to start a whole new life. I will always admire my parents courage and every family that has ever had to do the same thing. When high school came along I was able to apply to get DACA and start planning for college. However, nothing is ever easy and especially not easy for immigrant families. I found out I was not able to get any FAFSA help for college, and I wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition. Not to mention it’s very hard for me to get a loan without outrageous interest rates due to being undocumented. This was a very low point for me and really made me put a lot of things into perspective. I wondered why it was like this for families that are trying to give their kids a better future, families that have already struggled enough, and that have always had to work extra hard for everything in life. So as soon as I turned 16 I worked throughout high school, and in the summer I would even work 3 jobs. I saved every penny I could, I did not want to feel like a financial burden for my parents since I always saw how hard they have always worked to give me a good life. I have been working every semester in college to help afford my tuition and this experience as made me look at life differently. My goal is to graduate college, become a leader in my community, and help as many people as I can. A lot of people don’t realize how unrepresented Hispanic families are, but I want to raise awareness on this issue and hopefully make a positive change for families going through the same thing. Hopefully one day it won’t be this hard. After every struggle, every tear, and every night I stayed up worried about how we were going to afford my next semester… I look forward to the day I graduate college and I can hug my parents and say “Mom! Dad! I did it!”

To me generational wealth means creating a better life for me, making my parents proud, and making life easier on my own kids. My name is Michelle, and I am a first generation college student. My parents immigrated from Mexico and brought me over to the US when I was just a baby. I could never thank my parents enough for everything they have done for me. I have had the pleasure to grow up here, and my parents have always made sure my younger brother and I always had anything we needed. However, everything has come with its challenges and sadly many Hispanic families have had similar experiences. Growing up we never had much, but my parents always worked hard to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Throughout my childhood I was always the translator for my parents. I remember being 10 years old and having to go with my parents to the doctors office to translate for them, or the time I had to go to the bank with them when they first opened up their bank accounts. I didn’t grow up with any Hispanic kids my age so I always felt so different being the only Hispanic in my class. I never realized how hard my parents worked all the time to keep us going. It’s crazy to think that my parents were two twenty year olds with their new baby, and decided to leave everything behind, including their families to come to a country that spoke a totally different language and were able to start a whole new life. I will always admire my parents and every family that has ever had to do the same thing. When high school came along I was able to apply to get DACA and start planning for college. However, nothing is ever easy and especially not easy for immigrant families. I found out I was not able to get any FAFSA help for college, and I wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition. Not to mention it’s very hard for me to get a loan without outrageous interest rates due to being undocumented. This was a very low point for me and really made me put a lot of things into perspective. I wondered why it was like this for families that are trying to give their kids a better future, families that have already struggled enough, and that have always had to work extra hard for everything in life. So as soon as I turned 16 I worked throughout high school, and in the summer I would even work 3 jobs. I saved every penny I could, I did not want to feel like a financial burden for my parents since I always saw how hard they have always worked to give me a good life. I have been working every semester in college to help afford my tuition and this experience as made me look at life differently. My goal is to graduate, become a leader in my community and provide a better life for my future kids. A lot of people don’t realize how unrepresented Hispanic families are, but I want to raise awareness on this issue and hopefully make a positive change for families going through the same thing. Hopefully one day it won’t be this hard for families like mine.

My name is Michelle, and I am a first generation college student. My parents immigrated from Mexico and brought me over to the US when I was just a baby. I grew up in a small town in New Market Alabama, and I could never thank my parents enough for everything they have done for me. I have had the pleasure to grow up here, and my parents have always made sure my younger brother and I always had anything we needed. However, everything has come with its challenges and sadly many Hispanic families have had similar experiences. Growing up we never had much, but my parents always worked hard to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Throughout my childhood I was always the translator for my parents. I remember being 10 years old and having to go with my parents to the doctors office to translate for them, or the time I had to go to the bank with them when they first opened up their bank accounts. I didn’t grow up with any Hispanic kids my age so I always felt so different being the only Hispanic in my class. I also remember being a kid and missing out on a lot of experiences growing up. For example, it felt like everyone did sports, or some type of after school activity. However, my parents didn’t allow me to join anything because we could not afford to put me into sports or any after school activities. I never realized how hard my parents worked all the time to keep us going. It’s crazy to think that my parents were two twenty year olds with their new baby, and decided to leave everything behind, including their families to come to a country that spoke a totally different language and were able to start a whole new life. I will always admire my parents and every family that has ever had to do the same thing. When high school came along I was able to apply to get DACA and start planning for college. However, nothing is ever easy and especially not easy for immigrant families. I found out I was not able to get any FAFSA help for college, and I wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition. Not to mention it’s very hard for me to get a loan without outrageous interest rates due to being undocumented. This was a very low point for me and really made me put a lot of things into perspective. I wondered why it was like this for families that are trying to give their kids a better future, families that have already struggled enough, and that have always had to work extra hard for everything in life. So as soon as I turned 16 I worked throughout high school, and in the summer I would even work 3 jobs. I saved every penny I could, I did not want to feel like a financial burden for my parents since I always saw how hard they have always worked to give me a good life. I have been working every semester in college to help afford my tuition and this experience as made me look at life differently. My goal is to graduate and become a leader in my community and help as many people as I can. A lot of people don’t realize how unrepresented Hispanic families are, but I want to raise awareness on this issue and hopefully make a positive change for families going through the same thing. Maybe one day it won’t be this hard.

The simple question “what makes you happy” can get people anxious. Why? Well I will be happy to elaborate because I am part of that group of people. I think theirs a lot of things that can bring us joy in the moment, but makes us feel bad about our selves when it’s over. Sure, I’m happy when I’m eating ice cream however, when I’m done with the ice cream I feel bad about myself that I ate that much ice cream. I am happy about getting an education, not to mention super grateful that my parents have made so many sacrifices in life to get me here. However, even though going to school makes me happy because I know not everybody gets that luxury, school also stresses me out. Another thing that makes me happy, is having a job because I can actually afford things due to it. However, working full-time and being a student full-time can definitely be a workload and that is an understatement. Not only is the anxiety of being a student at a all time high, but being anxious about paying for bills, paying for school, and paying for other things such as gas and groceries can definitely be a handful. I enjoy going out with friends, they make me laugh. when I do have downtime and I can do some thing else besides work and school I feel guilty, because of the constant thought that I’m not doing enough in school or I’m not making enough money to be able to afford school. Finally, to answer your question what makes me happy. It is pretty simple at the end of the day it’s eating ice cream, going out with friends, and spending time with family. And honestly, I don’t feel bad about it anymore.

One of the most inspiring books that I have ever read has been the hall series of unfortunate events by lemony Snicket. To me these are the most inspiring books because it is about a three children who lost their parents, and they have to find a way to survive on their own. They go through so much together and sometimes no matter what they do they can’t escape the villain. I think these books are inspirational because even though everyone tells you “everything will be just fine no matter what.” It doesn’t necessarily mean to go on with your life and hope for the best. I think this book talks about how much we shouldn’t just sit back and if something bad happens just let it happen. I think this book is actually teaching us to keep going, no matter if 1 million bad things have happened to you and you feel like you can’t get anything right. You should still fight for that perfect ending you ending up where you want to be in life. Many people in our society take “everything will be just fine” quite literally. I’ve seen many people with the mind set of “oh everything will be the way it needs to be. I didn’t get the job so I wasn’t suppose to go there, and I didn’t get accepted into college so I wasn’t suppose to go in the first place”. I think many people can definitely lose opportunities and miss chances because of that mindset. I have always been taught to go after what I believe in even if in that moment it seems so stupid, ice still would go after what I want. So yes I think the phrase everything “will be just fine” is taken too seriously by this society.