My dad is my biggest inspiration and role model when it comes to education. He was born in a small rural village in Peru. With an alcoholic father and a mother and siblings who died due to a lack of medical access, he had to strive for a way out while also taking care of his younger siblings. He went to a rural school where there was a single teacher for 5 grade levels. After he moved to the capital, Lima, he went to a public school in order to get a better education and worked during the nights so that he could have something to eat. It was survival. His hard work paid off when he got admitted into the best engineering school in Peru. Pushing himself through the rigorous courses, he finally graduated. He single-handedly broke the cycle of poverty he was born into and he helped his family out of it too. That is my dad's story. This story not only shaped him, but it shaped me. I grew up with education being the number one priority in my life. With my dad being living proof of what education is capable of, he made a tough decision: for me and my brother to have an American education. When I was about 10 years old, my family moved to the United States. This change was difficult for me because at the time I felt as though I was leaving my whole life behind: my family, my friends, and all that I had known. After a twelve-hour flight, I was starting over. It took me a while to acclimate and overcome all the unexpected challenges that arose such as social anxiety, adapting to American culture, crossing the language barrier, and general prejudice. It took a lot of courage and perseverance to get through school and adjust to all the new changes around me. An education in the United States opens up so many doors that have been closed to my parents, so I decided to make the most out of it and focus on school, combatting my own challenges and adversities, and contentedly following in my dad's footsteps. This paid off when I was accepted into college and I hope to be the first person in my family to graduate college in the United States. My parents ask a single thing of me: to ensure that the future generations of our family will not experience poverty the way my dad did. That is why I am pursuing higher education. However, I have bigger goals. I want to ensure no one has to experience extreme poverty like my dad did. This has always been one of my life goals, and I hope to make progress toward it during college as I strongly believe that I can create social change by furthering my education. In the future, I hope to establish a scholarship of my own as I find Jose Prado’s legacy to be inspiring. Education will always be something that I support and find empowering, so someone who has put a lot of effort and hard work into academics would be something I would look for in a potential candidate. Another important value for a candidate would be community service because I think this gives people a rewarding experience and makes them a well-rounded person.

It has always been my dream to leave something behind that makes an impact on those around me. I was raised with strong values of accountability, humility, and social responsibility, which guide the path I plan to follow in the future. A way in which I plan to create a legacy is to establish a way to do business differently and raise ethical and social standards in the business industry. Part of this plan is being an entrepreneur and creating a financial institution that helps struggling communities in developing countries in order to foster economic growth and long-term stability. A financial institution that empowers local communities through connections to the global market would be a good way to help developing countries achieve a better standard of living. This financial institution would have services such as micro-loans and connections to investors that would allow business owners in the community to expand and propel their economy. While I admire the work of non-profit organizations and truly believe they are integral in our communities, I think there are better ways to address extreme poverty, especially in developing countries, that empower the community rather than establishing some dependence. Much of the help that non-profit organizations provide these communities often has negative externalities that people do not notice and worst of all, it is with no ill intent. By providing them with these services, people and business owners in these communities are free to work in what they determine is best for their community which can empower them to become major players in the global market. I would hope to have many of these financial institutions around different parts of the world that are struggling, my own country being one of them, and working together with these communities to maximize the impact in their communities and beyond. Through this type of business, I would hope that other effects follow such as an improvement in healthcare, education, and security. I shine my light by being actively involved in volunteer work around my community. I enjoy helping others and I love meeting people of different backgrounds through it. This is one of the ways I have discovered what I want to do in the future and how I would go about doing it. I have met many people that are doing what they love in non-profits and I hope to bring a different perspective by combining business and social responsibility.

I have dedicated over 400 hours to volunteering, a commitment that has shaped my skills, purpose, and passion for helping others. I started volunteering in high school and that is when I discovered that our communities cannot run without volunteers. With my background and upbringing, humility and gratefulness are values I live by, which have fueled my desire to give back, as I find it both important and rewarding. I first started volunteering at food pantries. I was a regular volunteer at our local food pantry where we served over 350 families a month. One of the things I loved about this pantry was the availability of fresh food and support for those in my community. I got to see people from all walks of life and I was able to make a small impact there. This led me to volunteer at my university’s pantry, which gives out about 6,000 pounds of food a week to students and staff at the university. This gave me a better understanding of food insecurity affecting those on my college campus. So I started volunteering at a church where I help prepare, cook, and host weekly student dinners. This experience not only helps those around my college campus, but it has actually helped me get better at cooking. Making weekly meals has taught me great new recipes to try and I have met a group of people that is fun to be around. The experiences I find the most rewarding are those related to education. I was an Outdoor Lab High School leader twice, where I taught 6th graders about sustainability and being good stewards for a week at Mt. Evans. By the end of the week, I received tons of thank-you letters I still have with me. Most recently, I have been volunteering at University Hill Elementary School, where I help students in a bilingual classroom with reading and fluency. This experience has a special place in my heart because when I first moved to the US, I wished there was someone who could’ve helped me with my English learning or even had anyone to talk to in Spanish. I work primarily with a student who is struggling with his English fluency and vocabulary. The last time I was there, his teacher showed me the improvement she had seen since I started mentoring him. It is rewarding to see the progress he is making, and I truly enjoy working with the other students too. When I was done volunteering there for the semester, their teacher announced it was my last day and asked “What do we say?” Instead of saying thank you, they all exclaimed “Noooooo!” which we both found hilarious. Volunteering is something I look forward to every week. I find that taking an hour or two out of my day can have a great impact on others around me. This has also led me to be certain that I will remain involved with nonprofits in the future. Furthermore, I love the people that I've met through volunteering as they are great role models. For example, one walks by the river every morning and picks up trash along the river path. Another turned his life around after mandated community service. This group of people has taught me ways in which I could be a better person. Not to mention, since most of them are older, they are great to talk to because they have so many stories to tell. Giving back has become my purpose and passion, driving me to help others and make a positive impact on my community.

My dad was born in a small village in Peru. With an alcoholic father and a mother and siblings who died due to a lack of medical access, he had to strive for a way out while also taking care of his younger siblings. He went to a rural school where there was a single teacher for 5 grade levels. Eventually, he was able to move to the capital and he went to a public school where he had to adapt to a new culture and people that made fun of his background. My dad worked during the nights and took jobs so that he could have something to eat. It was survival. His hard work paid off when he got admitted into the best engineering school in Peru. Pushing himself through the rigorous courses, he finally graduated. He single-handedly broke the cycle of poverty he was born into and he helped his family out of it too. That is my dad's story. This story not only shaped him, but it shaped me. I grew up with education being the number one priority in my life. With my dad being living proof of what education was capable of, my parents made a tough decision: for me and my brother to have an American education. When I was about 10 years old, we moved to the United States. This change was hard for me because then I felt as if I was leaving my whole life behind. Eventually, I was able to see why my parents sacrificed everything. Their sacrifice has taught me how different love can look because their decision was completely selfless and tough. It is bittersweet how parents give their children the things they couldn't have. With everything I had been given, I decided to make the most out of it and focus on school, combatting my own challenges and adversities. To this day, my parents are doing absolutely everything to keep me in school and their work ethic has taught me how to be strong against all obstacles and how to persevere. They have also taught me the importance of building relationships with others and building a community. Perhaps the most important lesson is how sacred family is and how we will do anything for one another. We have faced many challenges as a family, but we are still here and we keep on fighting. My parents ask a single thing of me: to ensure that the future generations of our family will not experience poverty the way my dad did. I, however, have bigger goals. I want to ensure everyone does not experience extreme poverty like my dad did. This has always been one of my life goals, and I hope to make progress toward it during college as I strongly believe that I can create social change by furthering my education.