My mother was the first out of 6 children to go to college in Venezuela. Leaving everything she knew behind, she moved us to the United States to ensure that I had a better life and education. My mother came from almost nothing and growing up she always said to me that our family doesn't have any heirlooms; but that the best and only thing she could pass down to me is my education. In her own words," nobody can ever steal your education. It is yours and yours alone- forever". Raising me as a single mother has not been easy for her and I know that she has had to sacrifice a lot. Yet she still managed to help me out me through undergrad for architecture. However, architecture is a field that requires a Master's Degree in order to get licensed and begin moving forward with my career. As soon as I graduated, I took a job to save as much as I could in order to pay for my Masters degree myself but after getting accepted to my dream school outside of the state, the costs of attending are getting to be much much more than what I had expected. This scholarship would help me affront the material costs that is related to architecture. It would allow me more time to focus on my studies and opportunities offered by the school to advance my career. I have learned that my mother used some of her retirement money to put me in school. While I have the chance, I want to continue to grow in my career and be able to not only support my educational dreams/ goals but to give back to my mom and make her golden years a little bit more golden. Like many, I have aspirations as to what I want to do with my career- some of those included being able to focus on Humanitarian Architecture and design a better world for refugees and immigrants. But one of my biggest motivations, the one that keeps me going everyday, is proving to my mom that her sacrifices were worthwhile. That the effort of her sacrifices bear abundant fruit and that in my lifetime I may be able to reward her in the best way that I can.

Khaled Hosseini, one of my favorite authors, said, "It may be unfair, but what happens even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime..." it was while reading his books did I really feel identified for the first time in years;like someone was writing my own thoughts. Hosseini and I don't come from the same place, in fact they are very different culturally and geographically. But it filled me with hope to know that we had each seemed to find our place in the US, and that there are many others who can experience a very similar reality. What I'm most optimistic and grateful about living in the US, is that no matter where you come from you have the opportunity to thrive and live a prosperous life. And it is that hope of a better future that keeps us going, even if we achieve it by different means. At 7 years old my life changed, and a new word was added to my identity: immigrant. From then I have used numerous fluctuations of that word in an attempt to describe myself; in an attempt to categorize a fabrication of my identity into something tangible. Unfortunately, the Venezuela where I was born is not the same that it used to be; the once "Saudi Arabia of Latin America" became the country with the highest inflation rate, highest death rate and one of the highest migration rates. I left a crumbling country in search of a better future and although at the time I saw it as being forced by my mom to leave my friends and family, today I thank her for sacrificing it all for me and my education. In 2002, a lot of political turmoil erupted in Venezuela against the newly “appointed” president , Hugo Chavez. My mom has always raised me to be politically conscious and it started then too. My mom, as a single mother, became a prominent organizer in the community of Dissident Marches and even at 5 years old I would go with her. In an attempt to remove him democratically, there was a referendum but then Chavez’s people betrayed the country and released the list of citizens that had voted against him. Those people were persecuted- included my mom. I was not an immigrant by choice-I never expected to be an immigrant and this dual nationality has forced me to change my already complicated definition of where I come from. This only makes me prouder of whom I have become and whom I will be in the future. I am proud to be called Venezuelan: it's in my blood and it will forever be branded into my being. I am also proud to represent another American country: USA. The US is very different from Venezuela starting from history, to culture, to language.venezuelans are very open people- there's something about Latins that are very welcoming and treat each other like family and anyone can easily become family. I find myself being criticized too often for being “too open, too touchy, too many hugs and kisses” and many other things.I miss the caribbean beaches, the annual warmness, the ecological diversity that Venezuela has. But I also recognize that I have learned a great deal by also being brought up in the US. I have learned to not take my heritage for granted and to applaud it; I have learned to stand up for what i believe in; i have learned what it's like to live under a democracy and not a narco-dictatorship; and i have recognized that although I applaud a lot of my Latin culture, i have learned to recognize that there is a lot of machismo.I think having this worldly perspective allows me to understand biases and be consciously aware of how different people exist and how their culture could create a paradigm of how they view the world. I’m very grateful for the many things I’ve experienced in the US, but I am extremely grateful for giving me another set of glasses through which to see the world, and even allowing me to meet other people with which we could exchange these “glasses”. Since being in the US, I have been blessed with many opportunities and wonderful people that have become extended family. I was blessed with an opportunity to go to college, because of the American Dream. I have realized that the word immigrant will proudly hang like a golden medal among my greatest achievements. Being an immigrant taught me curiosity to see the world, humility towards the welcoming country, and above all gratefulness. My mother has taught me that education is the only hereditary legacy that is worth passing on, and that without her sacrifices and support, this feat would’ve been nearly impossible. I would like my statement to be very clear: I am an immigrant. An architecture immigrant; and as such I am here to build and create. I am here to improve. I am here to learn. I am here to stay.