My name is Stephanie Alaniz Hernandez, and I am a first-generation high school graduate and current college student. I am the daughter of two immigrants who grew up in Mexico. My parents decided to leave their lives in Mexico to provide my siblings and me with more opportunities. My family has a humble background; my parents did not have the privilege of attending high school, and they grew up with little to no food or money at times. As I grew up, these stories had a profound impact on me. I experienced a range of emotions, from frustration to motivation to grow as a person. Throughout my childhood and adult years, I have experienced obstacles to pursuing my dreams. I grew up in a low-income home. I had free and reduced lunch at school. There were times when I went to a doctor's appointment with my parents and had to be an interpreter for them since they didn't speak English well. My family's roots have impacted me in countless ways and have made me become a more resilient, hardworking woman. For the past 4 years, I have worked as a caregiver at an assisted living facility. During the summer, I work full-time, and when school starts again, I work part-time. While I enjoy my job, it is exhausting at times. I have to work long hours during the summer to anticipate my tuition and fees, and it places a lot of stress on me. It also leaves my family worried, as it seems I work too much and might not leave enough time for self-care. Sometimes, I feel I have an obligation to work not only for myself, but also for my family. I work to cover the out-of-pocket expenses for my school tuition, books, gas for my car, and help my dad with bills throughout the year. The prices of groceries and rent for our house continue to increase, and I help as much as I can. I also aim to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses for my family. I want them to focus on the household bills. To further reduce expenses, I have lived at my parents' home throughout my college experience, which means I commute to school for all my classes too. During my first two years of college, I was overwhelmed with family life, being new to college, and as a result, I didn't earn the best grades. I took the initiative to overcome these challenges by going to my professors and getting help with learning how to study better, and I worked on figuring out how to balance school and work. I talked to my boss at work about changing my working hours. Taking these steps for my mental health helped me persevere, make the dean's list for the last 4 semesters, feel more confident in myself as a student, and be more proud of who I am becoming as an individual. I plan to use my nursing education to help my community, family, and my parents. I plan to empower people and support them in better maintaining their health. It's important to me to help others who are vulnerable and be someone they can trust. It is also valuable for me to be a nurse for my loved ones who don’t have good health insurance, so I can be a resource and support for them. I want to be a nurse to give back to my parents and help support their future and health, too. They worked hard to raise me, and now I get to help them and others be healthy and safe.