Switching from an English environment to a Spanish one is a daily occurrence for me. I never considered this passive behavior to be something that could be helpful to others, but I soon realized it was. Renewing a License is a difficult task for someone who doesn't understand the steps provided in an English letter. I didn't know the process to even begin a renewal, but I could read and work through the steps, in comparison to my Spanish-speaking mother who didn't get the privilege to finish secondary school. I read through the letter, filled out the application, and translated every word. The sigh of relief from my mother made this perturbing experience worthwhile. Growing up, I saw my mother being turned away from facilities because she wasn't able to communicate with their English-speaking representatives; I witnessed the crushed face of my mom as she turned to leave. My language developed as did my responsibilities. I translated court paperwork and school mail, filled out applications, translated conversations, and became the translator of the century. Family gatherings consisted of conversations, food, and relatives who needed assistance translating paperwork. I spent my time working through perplexing vocabulary and clarifying the purpose of each job application, legal paperwork, or tax document. I often stuttered my responses but I never turned someone away. I learned to coordinate my speech and refine my interpretation. My family showed their appreciation and I grew comfortable with my confidence. Naturally, I wanted to extend my help outside of my family; I did this by volunteering at Santa Rita Elementary ASES program which allowed me to connect and integrate students regardless of their language. A particular student, Griselda, who had trouble communicating with her classmates because of her language barrier asked me to help her with homework, communication, and reading. I helped her translate her thoughts and ideas, guided her with pronunciation, translated homework steps, and read aloud. I aspire to stop families from feeling alienated from their communities. Whether I pursue healthcare, law, finance, or marketing, my goal will continue to help society become more inclusive. through self-initiated activities to help my community overcome the language barrier issue, I have created a goal I am set to accomplish through my career choice. Providing translation to individuals has allowed me to give my community a chance to be heard and helped, never turning away someone can mean more than just an action.

Switching from an English environment to a Spanish one is a daily occurrence for me. I never considered this passive behavior to be something that could be helpful to others, but I soon realized it was. Renewing a License is a difficult task for someone who doesn't understand the steps provided in an English letter. I didn't know the process to even begin a renewal, but I could read and work through the steps, in comparison to my Spanish-speaking mother who didn't get the privilege to finish secondary school. I read through the letter, filled out the application, and translated every word. The sigh of relief from my mother made this perturbing experience worthwhile. Growing up, I saw my mother being turned away from facilities because she wasn't able to communicate with their English-speaking representatives; I witnessed the crushed face of my mom as she turned to leave. My language developed as did my responsibilities. I translated court paperwork and school mail, filled out applications, translated conversations, and became the translator of the century. Family gatherings consisted of conversations, food, and relatives who needed assistance translating paperwork. I spent my time working through perplexing vocabulary and clarifying the purpose of each job application, legal paperwork, or tax document. I often stuttered my responses but I never turned someone away. I learned to coordinate my speech and refine my interpretation. My family showed their appreciation and I grew comfortable with my confidence. Naturally, I wanted to extend my help outside of my family; I did this by volunteering at Santa Rita Elementary ASES program which allowed me to connect and integrate students regardless of their language. A particular student, Griselda, who had trouble communicating with her classmates because of her language barrier asked me to help her with homework, communication, and reading. I helped her translate her thoughts and ideas, guided her with pronunciation, translated homework steps, and read aloud. The impact of a language is inspirational and daunting. You can form various connections with people from different cultures, religions, races, and ethnicities through a language.

Switching from an English environment to a Spanish one is a daily occurrence for me. I never considered this passive behavior to be something that could be helpful to others, but I soon realized it was. Renewing a License is a difficult task for someone who doesn't understand the steps provided in an English letter. I didn't know the process to even begin a renewal, but I could read and work through the steps, in comparison to my Spanish-speaking mother who didn't get the privilege to finish secondary school. I read through the letter, filled out the application, and translated every word. The sigh of relief from my mother made this perturbing experience worthwhile. Growing up, I saw my mother being turned away from facilities because she wasn't able to communicate with their English-speaking representatives; I witnessed the crushed face of my mom as she turned to leave. My language developed as did my responsibilities. I translated court paperwork and school mail, filled out applications, translated conversations, and became the translator of the century. Family gatherings consisted of conversations, food, and relatives who needed assistance translating paperwork. I spent my time working through perplexing vocabulary and clarifying the purpose of each job application, legal paperwork, or tax document. I often stuttered my responses but I never turned someone away. I learned to coordinate my speech and refine my interpretation. My family showed their appreciation and I grew comfortable with my confidence. Naturally, I wanted to extend my help outside of my family; I did this by volunteering at Santa Rita Elementary ASES program which allowed me to connect and integrate students regardless of their language. A particular student, Griselda, who had trouble communicating with her classmates because of her language barrier asked me to help her with homework, communication, and reading. I helped her translate her thoughts and ideas, guided her with pronunciation, translated homework steps, and read aloud. I aspire to stop families from feeling alienated from their communities. Pursuing Healthcare would allow me to give resources to families struggling to fit into their communities because of a language barrier. I would be able to communicate with patients and enable connections without barriers limiting their trust. I would have the chance to give patients the needed resources and support they need, giving them full room for attention and honesty. My dedication is towards families who have been turned away from facilities due to their language.

I plan to use my experiences and background to make the healthcare industry more accessible to non-English speakers. Growing up I struggled with reading and speaking. I grew up in a Spanish-speaking home and was thrown into an English-speaking community. I struggled to communicate with my peers, couldn't contribute to class, was lost in school, and didn't understand what those around me said. I felt isolated from my classmates throughout elementary school. I couldn't understand my teacher's instructions, I felt as if everyone was ridiculing me because I couldn't understand what they said, I was behind my peers in reading, and I couldn't speak with anyone without a language barrier. With the right guidance, I was able to find a place for myself. I was introduced to books I found interesting, and over time I developed my reading and speaking skills. Books have helped me find myself and find a sense of belonging. Language is always a barrier to communication in our community. With my experiences and goals, I hope to expand the healthcare industry into being more inclusive in language. This will benefit the service, opportunities, and effectiveness of healthcare. Providing language translation services, translation with paperwork, and any translation that is needed to ensure that our community can receive equal healthcare. In my future college, I will contribute to inclusivity for college students who require translation services. I translate paperwork for my parents and often fill out paperwork for them. I know that it is intimidating to fill out paperwork that is new to you but is easier to understand for you than it would be for your parents. I would be interested in creating a club or program that allows students to receive translation services for paperwork or anything they might require. Often support is restricted from undocumented students because of citizenship. Many scholarships require you to be a “US Citizen” or “Permanent resident”, I am neither of those and my access to scholarships has been greatly restricted. My school life has been greatly impacted by my undocumented status. From being unable to participate in travel opportunities, unable to meet program eligibility requirements, being restricted to instate colleges, and much more. I hope to be a role model for my family in showing them that despite my status, I am still able to overcome adversity and chase my goals. I want to show undocumented families that they are not limited to fieldwork, working as a fieldworker has taught me resilience. I will not be confined to the jobs undocumented families are subjected to. Through this opportunity, I hope to receive support to become a registered nurse, to make the health field more inclusive for non-English speakers, to provide access to language services, and to represent the unrecognized workers of the fields.

My accent was too thick and my foreign language was different, odd, and those first four years of elementary school, my language forced me from my peers. It pushed me back, buried me in failure until I couldn't fit in, thought I’d never fit in again. I looked at my test scores ranked on the clip chart, “contact parents.” My peers all clipped next to “outstanding” and “great work”. It was embarrassing. Feeling their pitiful eyes on you as you try to tame your blazing cheeks and keep your childish tears. My fifth-grade teacher encouraged me to select books that I found interesting. However, it was hard for me to find anything interesting when my mind was occupied with my responsibilities. Going to an after-school program straight after school until six, keeping my siblings entertained, doing my chores around my home to help my mom, and completing homework that didn't make any sense to me. As an immigrant in a new school with only English speakers, I felt isolated and different. I was proud of myself and my language but it changed when I was the only different kid in a class of unsensored kids. I struggled in school because I wanted to hold onto my language and self-being, but I knew that I had to change to succeed in an American school. I decided to stay in class with my teacher while my peers played during recess, as it was my time free of responsibility. I asked my teacher for her favorite book for kids, and together we read "Ellie's Story: A Puppy Tail". I found myself invested in learning about a puppy's journey to becoming a K-9; overcoming differences and finding security in a family. I saw myself overcoming my differences and struggles just as Ellie had. I lost some of my fluency in Spanish to gain fluency in English. It was devastating to see this change, I now would speak English at all times and I could only speak Spanish to my mother. A language I hold so dear to my identity was ripped from my developing mind in order to fit in with American society. I dedicated my time to reading at every opportunity, finding interest in all types of books, from the I Survived book collection, the Magic Tree House book series, the Escape from Furnace series, and much more. I now looked at the class clip chart and would see my name placed next to “outstanding”. These experiences made me realize I was just as capable as other students to learn. I learned that no matter the doubt and insecurity that grew through years of low scores, harsh words of discouragement, side jokes from my peers on my scores, and all the negativity that surrounded me, I could still achieve what I put my mind to. This experience helped me develop compassion and understanding toward others. I know that people are going through different experiences and it means everything to be able to find solace in someone who won't judge you for not understanding a subject.

Reading was a difficult subject during my first four years of elementary school. I would read books I didn't find interesting, books with the most reading points, and only comic books. During fifth grade, this all changed for the better. I was introduced to several books by my teacher that I found interesting and more suited for me. I began reading at every opportunity, often spending my recess alone to read a book I couldn't get out of my head. I read over eighty books in my fifth-grade year. I am still proud of doing this considering how much I struggled with reading. Every year since fifth grade I have read over fifty books each year, it has become my favorite comfort hobby. The most influential books I have read have been ‘Savage Inequalities’ by Jonathan Kozol, ‘The Smartest Kids In The World’ by Amanda Ripley, ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell, and ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley. These books have taught me that society has been conditioned into our ‘suited’ positions and we accept this because we are too scared or pleased to make a change. We are in an education system that favors the top social class. Our schools reflect this favoritism. In rich areas, we have schools with low minority rates, hefty offered courses, small student-to-teacher ratios, updated modern campuses, stocked libraries, and more. Meanwhile, poor schools have almost one hundred percent minority enrollment, limited courses, crammed classrooms, deteriorating campuses, old ruined books, and many more bad qualities that rich schools don't. When poor schools have low scores, high dropout rates, high violent acts, and bad qualities, the blame is put on our parents, our home life, our backgrounds, our city, and everything in between but never the ruling class that puts us in compromising positions. Rich parents can afford the best education with beneficial results, but poor schools stay in a position we can't get out of because our dreams are washed away with the reality we live in and have to face. We live in poor communities, go to poor schools, get poor jobs, and give our children poor opportunities, our children get poor education, they get poor jobs, and they give their children poor opportunities. This is a cycle of poverty between generations that is inescapable because we are limited to a failing education. If we gave every child the same resources, maybe we could dream of a better future and have goals for ourselves with the right resources, but that is not the case. I've lived through these poor conditions inside and outside of school. I have had classes with more than thirty people per room, been enrolled in campuses next to toxic chemicals, been taught by teachers who hate their jobs, have read books with missing pages, and have been in classrooms with rats, but this has all been a lesson. I will pursue further education for all the people who were stolen from their education, I will get a career for all the people who have been limited to low-paying jobs, and I will get my family out of this generational poverty for all the years my family has had to live through hard field work labor. These inequalities I have read about have shaped my drive to pursue a medical career.

I was three years old when my mother decided to bring our small family of three to the United States. My mom, my sister, and I moved to Salinas California, and have since lived here. I began elementary school at five years old and was completely lost. I didn't speak the common language and my accent was too thick for my classmates to understand. I felt isolated and confused. I struggled with my reading but found great understanding in math. Often my teacher would schedule meetings with my mom to speak of my low scores and slow reading pace, I would feel more guilt than encouragement to do better. My teacher would say discouraging statements when speaking about me; “ she isn't reading at the same pace as her classmates”, “She is always confused about what is going on”, “She doesn't participate”, and “She doesn't follow the rules.” Though I didn't understand what he said most of the time, I picked up on what he was saying over countless meetings. He would blame my mom for the lack of support I was receiving on her part and my unwillingness to participate in reading. The reality was I didn't understand what he was saying because I didn't speak English, my mom couldn’t support me because she didn’t speak English, I couldn't read like my other classmates because I didn't speak English, and I felt discouraged to try in school because I didn't speak English. English, English, English. It always came down to my language barrier. I had no support until I reached fifth grade and was able to meet one of the most influential teachers I have had the privilege to be taught by. My fifth-grade teacher didn’t shame me for not having a good reading score but encouraged me to read daily to improve my reading. She introduced me to several books that I found interesting and captivating. If I didn't understand what I was reading she would take time during her lunch to read with me. I felt welcomed for the first time by a teacher. Over the year I would develop my reading skills, improve my English, improve my reading scores, and find passion in my education. This experience encouraged me to continue doing my best in school so I would be able to pursue a career with kids to help them find solace in an educator. Though I struggle with feeling a connection to my classmates and often feel out of place, I still involve myself because I know that I can overcome the differences and find security in myself.

My mom became a single mother early in her twenties when my biological father decided he couldn't see himself raising kids. My mom never asked him to help her or to be there as a figure, she knew it would cause more harm if we had an emotionally absent father. Living in Mexico with severe poverty and no support, my mom decided it would be best to chase the ‘American Dream’. With her small family of three, we arrived in California, and have since lived here. Within the first day here my mom searched for jobs and found a job as a field worker. My sister and I were left with my grandma while my mom worked to provide food and shelter. She worked late into the day, often leaving at six in the morning and arriving at seven in the evening. I frequently missed my mom's comfort but knew it was important for her to work because we didn't have anyone to rely on. My sister and I would take up household responsibilities such as doing laundry, cleaning, sweeping, mopping, and more in the hope of lessening the burden on my mom. I began working alongside my mom in the strawberry fields when I was fifteen years old, I begged her to take me to work so I could purchase my necessities so her own money could be put toward other bills. The first summer working was hard but I was able to save my money and use it on necessities I would need throughout the year. I learned the importance of saving and financial responsibility. Working alongside my mom through hot summers made me realize the gravity of her sacrifice for me and my siblings. Living with my single mother has also been pleasant. I get to have a home filled with an amazing women who work through her struggles and manage to raise two daughters. We grew up with many responsibilities but we learned how to take care of ourselves and help others. It means a great deal to me that I was mature enough to understand the struggles my mom was going through and doing what I could to help her. Some may say we “grew up too fast” and my “mother took our childhood away”, but she didn't. She worked so we could have a childhood filled with compassion and maturity. These life experiences made me compassionate, goal-oriented, and strictly focused on my education.

I was three years old when my mother decided to bring our small family of three to the United States. My mom, my sister, and I moved to Salinas California, and have since lived here. I began elementary school at five years old and was completely lost. I didn't speak the common language and my accent was too thick for my classmates to understand. I felt isolated and confused. I struggled with my reading but found great understanding in math. Often my teacher would schedule meetings with my mom to speak of my low scores and slow reading pace, I would feel more guilt than encouragement to do better. My teacher would say discouraging statements when speaking about me; “ she isn't reading at the same pace as her classmates”, “She is always confused about what is going on”, “She doesn't participate”, and “She doesn't follow the rules.” Though I didn't understand what he said most of the time, I picked up on what he was saying over countless meetings. He would blame my mom for the lack of support I was receiving on her part and my unwillingness to participate in reading. The reality was I didn't understand what he was saying because I didn't speak English, my mom couldn’t support me because she didn’t speak English, I couldn't read like my other classmates because I didn't speak English, and I felt discouraged to try in school because I didn't speak English. English, English, English. It always came down to my language barrier. I had no support until I reached fifth grade and was able to meet one of the most influential teachers I have had the privilege to be taught by. My fifth-grade teacher didn’t shame me for not having a good reading score but encouraged me to read daily to improve my reading. She introduced me to several books that I found interesting and captivating. If I didn't understand what I was reading she would take time during her lunch to read with me. I felt welcomed for the first time by a teacher. Over the year I would develop my reading skills, improve my English, improve my reading scores, and find passion in my education. This experience encouraged me to continue doing my best in school so I would be able to pursue a career with kids to help them find solace in an educator. Financial support in my academic journey has been very important. I have had the privilege to be able to attend schools with influential teachers, be given the resources needed, and be provided with a campus that I find comfort in. I get to select books from libraries with thousands of books, I get to do research on my school-provided Chromebook, I get to ask my teachers for help, I get to participate in job training, I get to attend college campuses, and much more. These are all privileges that I can indulge in, and it is financial support that I can do so with. With this scholarship money, I will be able to pursue further education and continue to explore different careers to benefit myself and my community.

I want to major in Nursing Science because I want to be involved in the health of my community and I want to be able to support patients through tough times. My accent was too thick and my foreign language was different, odd, and those first four years of elementary school, my language forced me from my peers. It pushed me back, buried me in failure until I couldn't fit in, thought I’d never fit in again. I looked at my test scores ranked on the clip chart, “contact parents.” My peers all clipped next to “outstanding” and “great work”. It was embarrassing. Feeling their pitiful eyes on you as you try to tame your blazing cheeks and keep your childish tears. My fifth-grade teacher encouraged me to select books that I found interesting. However, it was hard for me to find anything interesting when my mind was occupied with my responsibilities. Going to an after-school program straight after school until six, keeping my siblings entertained, doing my chores around my home to help my mom, and completing homework that didn't make any sense to me. I decided to stay in class with my teacher while my peers played during recess, as it was my time free of responsibility. I asked my teacher for her favorite book for kids, and together we read "Ellie's Story: A Puppy Tail". I found myself invested in learning about a puppy's journey to becoming a K-9; overcoming differences and finding security in a family. I saw myself overcoming my differences and struggles just as Ellie had. I dedicated my time to reading at every opportunity, finding interest in all types of books, from the I Survived book collection, the Magic Tree House book series, the Escape from Furnace series, and much more. I now looked at the class clip chart and would see my name placed next to “outstanding”. These experiences made me realize I was just as capable as other students to learn. I learned that no matter the doubt and insecurity that grew through years of low scores, harsh words of discouragement, side jokes from my peers on my scores, and all the negativity that surrounded me, I could still achieve what I put my mind to. This experience helped me develop compassion and understanding toward others. I know that people are going through different experiences and it means everything to be able to find solace in someone who won't judge you for not understanding a subject.