My name is Stephanie Nieto. I am a first-generation Hispanic student aiming to become a Pharmacist at the University of the Incarnate Word. I have special interests in heavy music, meaning I mainly listen and talk about the bands I love. I hang posters of the band members, buy all the merchandise I can find, search for interviews with said band members, and listen to their side projects. My personal style reflects such too. I have face piercings, I have crazy hair, and I dress in a variety of styles. Heavy metal - even including subgenres or branches of the genre, has influenced me and helped me greatly. People often think that the music would make me sad or violent, but it actually motivates me since people share the same emotion as me. While I sound music centered, I am actually really interested in starting a career in healthcare. I currently have a pharmacy tech license and am enrolled to be in the University of the Incarnate Word’s accelerated pharmacy program. I worked hard for the opportunity the University of the Incarnate Word has given me. I have a life long goal of offering bilingual healthcare to my community, and I knew I could accomplish such if I worked hard through my 4 years of highschool. Throughout the grueling 4 years of highschool I had to finish, I was enrolled in dual credit and Advanced Placement classes. Due to my work and education, I am currently salutatorian. Despite this fact, I have not gotten a large amount of scholarships. I still have to pay a large portion of my tuition, which usually averages to $39,000. My tuition gets reduced to $15,000 once my scholarships go through. I really need this scholarship because I don’t want to be a financial burden to my family. My mom and dad weren’t able to go to college - let alone finish high school. I don’t want them to experience student debt because I decided to follow my dreams. I would pay for my education by working under my pharmacy tech license and by accepting help from my parents. While it is possible, I would still appreciate help. I am not doing my career simply for myself, but for those who need my help.

My parents came to the United States in their early teenage years. My mom was able to reach and finish her sophomore year before she had to drop out due to being pregnant. My dad arrived and didn't get to enroll in school at all. Because of this, they have always pushed me and my brother to work hard and to surpass their education. Both me and my brother took this opportunity and became proficient in school. However, our 7 year age difference left a great gap for change. My brother began to fall out of his good grades and began barely passing. I saw how disappointed my parents were, not that they were disappointed in him specifically, just that it was hard for him to graduate. I witnessed this at 10 years old. I saw how important it was to my parents to receive good grades. Since that time I began to strive for the best grades I was capable of. I had already been in the habit of doing well in school - I had gotten straight A's my entire elementary years because of my parents' encouragement. But I had gained a new understanding of my academic career. I knew that I needed to do better for the sake of my parents' lost dreams. Their circumstances were out of their control, but I knew that I had the ability to control my own future. Since then, I worked hard to become the top of my school. I knew that my efforts would eventually pay off to something that my mom, dad, and brother couldn't reach - which was college. I enrolled in every AP and dual enrollment class I could just to reach further knowledge and to minimize the classes I would have to take when I actually reached college. I tried to minimize the burden my college tuition was on my parents. I took everything to boost my GPA, I knew that I would be able to achieve and earn great things if I became at least top ten. I wanted to become what my parents thought were admirable when they were in school. Now that I have accomplished all of the above, I am now a salutatorian at my school with an accelerated course at the University of the Incarnate Word waiting ahead of me. My parents' help, determination, and story impacted me by helping me strive to become better and to become the first to enter college.