I am applying to this because I’ll be starting grad school this upcoming fall and need some assistance covering the costs of my education. My dream is to become a Speech-Language Pathologist and someday buy my mother the house that she’s always dreamed of. As an SLP, I hope to work and serve in my community and encourage and mentor high school students to pursue this career path. In the future, I hope to start my own clinic to service my community. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish-speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves. I believe that through the pursuit of a college education my family and I can have a better life for generations to come. As the poet, Gwendolyn Brooks said “We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.” I like the idea of thinking of ourselves as each other’s magnitude. So, I often gravitate toward thinking about my capacity, the limits of what is possible for my life. The greatness of the word “magnitude” suggests that what we’re talking about is abundance, not scarcity. And that’s where I’m headed.

My name is Rocío, it's Spanish for dewdrops. I was born on a rainy Father’s Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico to two teenage parents. It’s always been me, my parents and my brother Sebastián. My community is my family. My mother in raising me took “it takes a village” seriously. I had a neighbor named Natalia. I called her Tata for short. She cared for me after-school while my parents worked long hours. Tata taught me lots about the world, she was what I call a neighborhood celebrity. She would cook enough dinner to feed an army just in case anyone knocked on the door. She pushed me to be outspoken and pursue an education. She later got sick, had a brain stroke which left her paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. One of the few things she could say was Ta-ta, the nickname I had given her as a child. A speech-pathologist worked with her a few times a week to rehabilitate her speech and swallowing. She had been working with a speech pathologist for over a year when I came to see her all dressed up in my gown for high school graduation when she uttered the words “proud of you” and made a rain sound and gesture meaning my name. That is when I decided that I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. In the U.S linguistically diverse clinicians are scarce; it was incredibly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking speech-pathologist; this leaves people like Tata without the right support. It is through my pursuit of a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology that I can impact my community by providing services that are not yet readily available. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves.

My name is Rocío, it's Spanish for dewdrops. I was born on a rainy Father’s Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico to two teenage parents. It’s always been me, my parents and my brother Sebastián. My community is my family. My mother in raising me took “it takes a village” seriously. I had a neighbor named Natalia. I called her Tata for short. She cared for me after-school while my parents worked long hours. Tata taught me lots about the world, she was what I call a neighborhood celebrity. She would cook enough dinner to feed an army just in case anyone knocked on the door. She pushed me to be outspoken and pursue the education that she never got a chance to receive. She later got sick, had a brain stroke which left her paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. One of the few things she could say was Ta-ta, the nickname I had given her as a child. A speech-pathologist worked with her a few times a week to rehabilitate her speech and swallowing. She had been working with a speech pathologist for over a year when I came to see her all dressed up in my gown for high school graduation when she uttered the words “proud of you” and made a rain sound and gesture meaning my name. That is when I decided that I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. In the U.S linguistically diverse clinicians are scarce; it was incredibly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking speech-pathologist; this leaves people like Tata without the right support. It is through my pursuit of a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology that I can impact my community by providing services that are not yet readily available. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves.

My name is Rocío, it's Spanish for dewdrops. I was born on a rainy Father’s Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico to two teenage parents. It’s always been me, my parents and my brother Sebastián. My community is my family. My mother in raising me took “it takes a village” seriously. I had a neighbor named Natalia. I called her Tata for short. She cared for me after-school while my parents worked long hours. Tata taught me lots about the world, she was what I call a neighborhood celebrity. She would cook enough dinner to feed an army just in case anyone knocked on the door. She pushed me to be outspoken and pursue an education. She later got sick, had a brain stroke which left her paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. One of the few things she could say was Ta-ta, the nickname I had given her as a child. A speech-pathologist worked with her a few times a week to rehabilitate her speech and swallowing. She had been working with a speech pathologist for over a year when I came to see her all dressed up in my gown for high school graduation when she uttered the words “proud of you” and made a rain sound and gesture meaning my name. That is when I decided that I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. In the U.S linguistically diverse clinicians are scarce; it was incredibly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking speech-pathologist; this leaves people like Tata without the right support. It is through my pursuit of a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology that I can impact my community by providing services that are not yet readily available. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves.

My name is Rocío, it's Spanish for dewdrops. I was born on a rainy Father’s Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico to two teenage parents. It’s always been me, my parents and my brother Sebastián. My community is my family. My mother in raising me took “it takes a village” seriously. I had a neighbor named Natalia. I called her Tata for short. She cared for me after-school while my parents worked long hours. Tata taught me lots about the world, she was what I call a neighborhood celebrity. She would cook enough dinner to feed an army just in case anyone knocked on the door. She pushed me to be outspoken and pursue an education. She later got sick, had a brain stroke which left her paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. One of the few things she could say was Ta-ta, the nickname I had given her as a child. A speech-pathologist worked with her a few times a week to rehabilitate her speech and swallowing. She had been working with a speech pathologist for over a year when I came to see her all dressed up in my gown for high school graduation when she uttered the words “proud of you” and made a rain sound and gesture meaning my name. That is when I decided that I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. In the U.S linguistically diverse clinicians are scarce; it was incredibly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking speech-pathologist; this leaves people like Tata without the right support. It is through my pursuit of a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology that I can impact my community by providing services that are not yet readily available. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves.

My name is Rocío, it's Spanish for dewdrops. I was born on a rainy Father’s Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico to two teenage parents. It’s always been me, my parents and my brother Sebastián. My community is my family. My mother in raising me took “it takes a village” seriously. I had a neighbor named Natalia. I called her Tata for short. She cared for me after-school while my parents worked long hours. Tata taught me lots about the world, she was what I call a neighborhood celebrity. She would cook enough dinner to feed an army just in case anyone knocked on the door. She pushed me to be outspoken and pursue an education. She later got sick, had a brain stroke which left her paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak. One of the few things she could say was Ta-ta, the nickname I had given her as a child. A speech-pathologist worked with her a few times a week to rehabilitate her speech and swallowing. She had been working with a speech pathologist for over a year when I came to see her all dressed up in my gown for high school graduation when she uttered the words “proud of you” and made a rain sound and gesture meaning my name. That is when I decided that I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. In the U.S linguistically diverse clinicians are scarce; it was incredibly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking speech-pathologist; this leaves people like Tata without the right support. It is through my pursuit of a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology that I can impact my community by providing services that are not yet readily available. I grew up in a community where I could see the disparities in healthcare being received by patients. I saw a difference in the health of those who had access to clinicians who spoke their language. Seeing a lack of Spanish speaking clinicians in my majority Hispanic neighborhood, I realized that I could be a participant in delivering quality health care to all. To be able to care for patients would mean the world to me, it’s a step forward in getting my community the care it deserves.

@rocimotti Instagram My life is at the intersection of my identities. I am queer, I am latina, I am proud. Our legacy and future is bright, our past a fortress, a warrior, our present now here. We are powerful and queer. I am not ashamed anymore.

Went on a trip to La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Slept on the shadow of an active volcano. You could see lava spewing out at night, a glowing ember in the distance. The locals would bathe in the river that runs close to the volcano, the water is warm, said to have healing properties. The locals would say be sure to not upset, the gods!