Being first generation is a planted seed in unknown soil. But each root of the seed is interconnected with strength, courage and resilience. Watered by my parents' determination for me to success. It’s the beginning of a journey that will soon blossom and spread among the soil and create a lasting legacy. However, each challenge strengthens the roots even more. The fires of Palisades have left us economically distraught. My dad was a gardener, serving over 20 years in the Palisades community. My dad is old now, with a degenerative knee from hard labor. My brothers and I have no luck in finding employment. My mom and I went to church and prayed for guidance and strength. Despite the chaos outside, inside the church, we found peace and resilience. That experience showed me the power of faith during hard times and how our cultural values are a source of healing. A church that once felt sacred feels threatening. ICE has been targeting my local church. Shattering the walls of the church with fear and echoing the words “stay out of here”. But I’m determined to use my faith as my powerful tool during these dark times. My social impact has allowed me to gain insight into what a community needs right now: guidance, resilience, and support. For instance, during the internship I participated at Democrashe, I was able to build a strong network of women to discuss significant issues such as racism, gentrification, and sexism. Democrashe has allowed me to gain better leadership, communication, and social work. I worked with an author, Chelsey Goodan, who wrote the book “Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls”. The book gained recognition from Oprah Winfrey, Amazon, and Reese Witherspoon. During high school, I joined a program called Just Keep Livin'. In this program, I led 40 students to do community service, whether it was cleaning up the streets or packing baby materials for children who live in poverty. I worked at my local community church where I helped students practice their faith and assisted students who didnt speak Spanish and did not feel limited in practicing their religious beliefs because of a language barrier. Through my civic engagement, I was awarded a “Greendot Champion Award” an award recognizing my commitment to community and civic work. Today, I continue to pursue my career endeavors and a passion for change. I’m majoring in Finance with a focus career on consultation at California State University Dominguez Hills. I also co-founded a college program where girls feel empowered through civic engagement and mentor high school girls nationally. As a first-generation student, I have firsthand experience with the difficulties of navigating college. I want to make the path for future college students easier. Education paves the path for underrepresented students to become leaders, be an advocate for my community, and to use education as a powerful tool to help those who are silenced because of fear, especially during these times. Which is why I’m very motivated to help high school students with my similar background to gain economic mobility and an education that no one can take away from them. Additionally, for Fall 2025, I received an internship to work with a start-up company. I understand my difficulties right now, but I won't use them as an excuse to stop trying. I use my adversity and faith for motivation to try harder and pursue opportunities. Despite my struggles, I’ve chosen to be purposeful, responsible and productive member creating a change for myself, my family, and my community.

My identity and upbringing has led me to become a productive community member. The fires of Palisades have left us economically distraught. My dad was a gardener, serving over 20 years in the Palisades community. My dad is old now, with a degenerative knee from hard labor. My brothers and I have no luck in finding employment. My social impact has allowed me to gain insight into what a community needs right now and me: guidance, resilience, and support. For instance, during the internship I participated at Democrashe, I was able to build a strong network of women to discuss significant issues such as racism, gentrification, and sexism. I worked with an author, Chelsey Goodan, who wrote the book “Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls”. During high school, I joined a program called Just Keep Livin'. In this program, I led 40 students to do community service, whether it was cleaning up the streets or packing baby materials for children who live in poverty. Through my civic engagement, I was awarded a “Greendot Champion Award” an award recognizing my commitment to community and civic work. Today, I continue to pursue my career endeavors and a passion for change. I co-founded a college program where I mentor high school girls nationally. Additionally, for Fall 2025, I received an internship to work with a start-up company. Despite my struggles, my views of the world and my adversity's have pushed me to create meaningful change.

A purposeful, responsible and productive community member means using your adversity to create a meaningful impact. Having a commitment to being a public servant to your community and lifting others. The fires of Palisades have left us economically distraught. My dad was a gardener, serving over 20 years in the Palisades community. My dad is old now, with a degenerative knee from hard labor. My brothers and I have no luck in finding employment. My mom and I went to church and prayed for guidance and strength. Despite the chaos outside, inside the church, we found peace and resilience. That experience showed me the power of faith during hard times and how our cultural values are a source of healing. A church that once felt sacred feels threatening. ICE has been targeting my local church. Shattering the walls of the church with fear and echoing the words “stay out of here”. But I’m determined to use my faith as my powerful tool during these dark times. My social impact has allowed me to gain insight into what a community needs right now: guidance, resilience, and support. For instance, during the internship I participated at Democrashe, I was able to build a strong network of women to discuss significant issues such as racism, gentrification, and sexism. Democrashe has allowed me to gain better leadership, communication, and social work. I worked with an author, Chelsey Goodan, who wrote the book “Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls”. The book gained recognition from Oprah Winfrey, Amazon, and Reese Witherspoon. During high school, I joined a program called Just Keep Livin'. In this program, I led 40 students to do community service, whether it was cleaning up the streets or packing baby materials for children who live in poverty. I worked at my local community church where I helped students practice their faith and assisted students who didnt speak Spanish and did not feel limited in practicing their religious beliefs because of a language barrier. Through my civic engagement, I was awarded a “Greendot Champion Award” an award recognizing my commitment to community and civic work. Today, as a first-generation Latina, I continue to pursue my career endeavors and a passion for change. I co-founded a college program where girls feel empowered through civic engagement and mentor high school girls nationally. As a first-generation student, I have firsthand experience with the difficulties of navigating college. I want to make the path for future college students easier. Education paves the path for underrepresented students to become leaders, be an advocate for my community, and to use education as a powerful tool to help those who are silenced because of fear, especially during these times. Which is why I’m very motivated to help high school students with my similar background to gain economic mobility and an education that no one can take away from them. Additionally, for Fall 2025, I received an internship to work with a start-up company. I understand my difficulties right now, but I won't use them as an excuse to stop trying. I use my adversity and faith for motivation to try harder and pursue opportunities. Despite my struggles, I’ve chosen to be purposeful, responsible and productive member create a change for myself, my family, and my community

There are always friends available to pique interest in drugs or alcohol. But they're never there to assist you in leaving the addictions. I regret to say that I have seen this happen to a family member. Although he was a healthy individual, he previously surrounded himself with "bad influence". His entire world turned upside down. He had a steady job, but once he started doing drugs, he lost it and ended up living on the streets. He didn't want assistance, or if he did, he would choose to ignore us and return to his addictions, so none of us could help him. He used to sleep on the streets and the beach. When he needed them the most, his so-called "friends" never once helped him or opened a door for him. Despite being aware of his situation, they continued to ignore him. His mother was his sole genuine person. His mother supported him and offered her undying affection. I'm glad to say that he visited a rehabilitation facility and received the assistance he required. Many of us donated money to support him because his family couldn't afford to pay for a rehabilitation facility. But what did left me thinking, what about others who went through the same thing but couldn’t cover the expenses? In the mental health field, there is a significant gap between those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from privileged backgrounds. Therapy is not available to everyone. Without insurance, one therapy session costs between $120-200. Because it is too expensive, not everyone can seek assistance. Most of the homeless people we see outdoors don't like being mentally ill and living on the streets. The absence of insurance, the income gap, and access to mental health services are the causes of everything. The system has an impact on minorities' lives now and in the future. Unless we provide accessible mental health care as a community. Alternatively, develop programs where everything will be paid for and people won't need to worry about expenses. Having grown up witnessing all of this, I now take more care in selecting the friendships I choose to be a part of. I put my focus on my ambitions and school. I don’t associate myself with people who do drugs or carry bad substances. Having seen the circumstance my relative was faced with, I was left with a huge lesson that surrounding yourself with toxic people can detrimentally affect your life.

After 10:00 p.m., my father would usually be present. I anxiously searched outside for my dad, but I couldn't find him. I knew something wasn't right. I found out my dad was in the hospital due to severe complications with his health and was battling for his life. Tears on the table, payments that are past due, and guilt. There was no credit card or savings account. I knew that my family was in threat of living on the streets. I saw how my parents were struggling to survive and trying to keep us from worrying. My body felt paralyzed one night, yet I was conscious. I broke down in tears because I felt confined by my own body. Sweat and paralyzing tears overcame my body, and although I was terrified, I refrained from telling anyone since I felt terrible and didn't want to frighten them. When I would get anxiety episodes, I would sob silently every night. I was frequently sent to sleep at family members' homes because no one was available to look after me. I started to withdraw from people. I spent my recess in the bathroom sleeping. When I got home from school, the fridge was always empty. I would pretend that I wasn't hungry to get my brothers to eat. Knowing that money was disappearing, I felt awful about eating. But I always managed to get around that by grabbing additional apples, grapes, and cookies during lunch to have extra food for my brothers and myself. I believed that it was my only chance of surviving. I recall hearing an adult discussion the day before about how my family was having trouble paying our rent and would soon have to relocate to Mexico. I realized that I needed a plan. I took out the bracelet box that was given to me on Christmas and I started making bracelets. I started selling bracelets outside of school to earn extra money for food. At first, I didn't really believe in myself but after I saw how much I was making, I was impressed with myself. I decided I wanted to take the extra step, so I went to a store with the money I made and bought more materials to make my bracelets. With the higher quality materials, they were higher quality and more profitable. I started investing the money I was earning in food and supplies. When I was at home, all I could hear was family members criticizing us for not having emergency funds and the housing situation we were in. It got really bad to the point where my family members said I couldn’t afford college. But I continued to store my money and it was soon getting filled up and I had almost enough money for rent. My mother received the remaining funds so that we can pay our rent. I felt relieved because I knew that money would allow me to stay in America and fulfill my aspirations. I felt like I could do more in this world for the first time in my life. I kept going despite the criticism because I didn't let it affect me. I was really young but I knew my potential. I was able to generate money and survive at an early age despite having no business acumen. I am prepared for the real world as an upcoming college student. I've faced difficulties in my life, but I've learned how to fight them and flourish. I’ve learned something unique about myself, I try to survive no matter what.

As I make my way through college, I'm learning things I never knew. For example, there is a limitation on the number of subsidized loans I may apply for. Alternatively, "0" doesn't necessarily refer to the projected family contribution on the FAFSA. Since I reside in a community where first-generation speakers are the majority, this kind of information isn't widely recognized. But no one needs a college education to give back to the community. I did it without one. I wanted to engage in community service and help out kids who struggle like me. During my first year of high school, I helped tutor a young student who couldn't speak English. Seeing him while volunteering reminded me of when I struggled to read in English. I would sometimes feel embarrassed of myself. Seeing how simple it was for other kids made me feel frightened. The kid glanced around the class with the same puzzled and shy expression I had. I sat next to him and helped him say his rosary in English. He looked around scared as I tutored him and saw that every student could speak English fluently. I also had the same face when everyone spoke English. Since I shared a similar experience growing up, I could relate to him. I could tell he was very anxious about being in a new environment, so I started by making him feel welcome and letting him know that it was ok to struggle. I shared my experience too, which helped ease his tension. At the end of the class, the boy could say the rosary in English and felt a little more comfortable in his new class. I was overjoyed and glad that he could finally interact with other students. Because they, like me, are first-generation college students, they are the ones who require more assistance getting through the obstacles that exist. I want to start an organization where kids who are first in their families can access scholarships, webinars on financial assistance, workshops for writing essays, and much more. I recognized to succeed, people must help each other. It's crucial to engage in acts of kindness and to support one another in the community. By supporting myself, I can help others overcome obstacles and instill confidence in them so they can continue to push forward and succeed.

I relate to a book in some way. A lot of people judge a “book by its cover” like how they judge me by one action. But like books, I have chapters, anecdotes, and complexity like a book. I have a unique story with a title labeled “Upcoming of a new language”. Throughout my academic career, I struggled with my accent. I was in second grade when our teacher asked us to discuss what we had received for Christmas. I held out my hand and talked loudly. Later that day, my classmates questioned me about why I couldn't speak English well. I was confused. I thought I was proficient in English. I remember telling myself that I wouldn't speak out in class anymore unless I was told to. I continued to increase my reading and speaking in English better. I didn't have access to the Internet. So I had to rely on the library to get free education. I would walk to the library whenever I wanted to research to print out projects, no matter the weather. I continued though, reading for two hours every day. When I felt like my reading skills had improved, I would push myself and pick harder books. In high school, I developed my public speaking abilities. I participated more and I don't hesitate to put up my hand when I have a question. I wanted to do community service and help out kids who struggle like me. During my first year of high school, I helped tutor a young student who couldn't speak English. Seeing him while volunteering reminded me of when I struggled to read in English. I recall needing help to pronounce my numbers. I would sometimes feel embarrassed of myself. Seeing how simple it was for other kids made me feel frightened. The kid glanced around the class with the same puzzled and shy expression I had. I sat next to him and helped him say his rosary in English. He looked around scared as I was tutoring him and saw that every student could speak English fluently. I also had the same face when everyone spoke English. Since I shared a similar experience growing up, I could relate to him. I could tell he was very anxious about being in a new environment, so I started by making him feel welcome and letting him know that it was ok to struggle. I shared my experience too, which helped ease his tension. I helped him pronounce the words he was attempting to and to help him better understand what he was reading. At the end of the class, the boy could say the rosary in English and felt a little more comfortable in his new class. I was overjoyed and glad that he could finally interact with other students. I recognize then that to succeed, people must help each other. By supporting them, I can help others overcome obstacles and instill confidence in them so they can continue to push forward and succeed. The attributes I have are confidence, resilience, and ambition to succeed. In my community with many kids having Spanish as their first language, I want to open up a program that involves Spanish native speakers making their English proficiency skills stronger. In my neighborhood, there's a growing homeless population and I want to set up a non-profit organization that involves feeding and getting funds to help the homeless people live and begin a new life. Every one of us shouldn’t be judged by the cover of our book. We all have chapters and stories waiting to be read.