Just before I turned 30 years old, I decided to finally go to college. I grew up in a low-income household and had to help with family expenses when I was old enough to get a job. There wasn't a chance to really be a child, and I saw many family members become involved in the criminal justice system at such a young age. Almost always due to criminal acts done in an attempt to ease our poverty. The most influential reason that I did not become involved in the criminal justice system is because I had access to decent education because I was able to go to a middle-class public school system. I realized this reality when I got into my 20's and began to be active in efforts to give low-income youth the same resources and opportunities as middle-class youth. In striving towards that goal, I decided to start by enrolling at my local community college. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or what I could do that would make a positive impact on the world. I did know that college would help me make it happen. I started community college the spring of the first quarantine began due to the COVID-19 virus, and I relied on financial aid during this time, due to being unable to work. The first two semesters of community college saw me living out of my car, with occasional days of sleeping on a friend's couch. The difficulties I faced with housing during that time, gave me a deeper understanding on how limited the resources are for those who are low-income. There was little assistance that I could access to help with things like affording housing while paying for the cost of school and its expenses. I eventually received help with housing expenses through my community college as they have received a grant that was specifically to help students who were homeless find and pay for housing. Due to this program, I was able to work on associate degrees in Humanities and allowed me to intern for a social work program. Determined to transfer to a university I looked at all the California State Universities as all but one were in highly accessible areas. Stanislaus State is the only California State University campus to have a Criminal Justice degree that had a Juvenile Justice concentration. When I saw that I could focus on helping youth who were already facing such tough situations at such a young age, I knew that I wanted to help them. Throughout my time so far at the university, I have learned about many ways I can implement and expand resources that will make a positive impact on juveniles. Specifically, how to prevent and intervene in youth who are engaging in criminal acts and have become involved in the system. Children who are in the juvenile justice system are often there ultimately due to the situation in which they were born into. There are many studies over the past several decades that show that children, and adults, that lack access to resources such as housing and good education, are the ones who find themselves involved in the criminal justice system. I hope to be able to influence legislation to increase resources available to children.

Just before I turned 30 years old, I decided to finally go to college. I grew up in a low-income household and had to help with family expenses when I was old enough to get a job. There wasn't a chance to really be a child, and I saw many family members become involved in the criminal justice system at such a young age. Almost always due to criminal acts done in an attempt to ease our poverty. The most influential reason that I did not become involved in the criminal justice system is because I had access to decent education because I was able to go to a middle-class public school system. Most of my family did not have access to that school district as they lived just outside the accepted boundaries. Due to a random situation, I was granted that gift and has allowed me to not feel pressured to engage in criminal behavior. I gave me a peer group where it that behavior was not accepted, it was not normalized. As I graduated high school, I spent my twenties trying to understand why I did not go down the same path as most of my family. I began to realize that education has a drastic impact and influence on whether people engage in criminal acts or not. Just before I became 30, I knew that I wanted to help youth who were in similar situations to me and my cousins. I knew that increasing access to education was key to opening potential opportunities and resources to low-income children. In the path to that, I have found myself at California State University Stanislaus focusing on juvenile justice. Specifically, how to prevent and intervene in youth who are engaging in criminal acts and have become involved in the system. I have moved myself far from my family in order to attend Stanislaus state. I chose this university because it is the only California State University to concentrate in juvenile justice. As I build my community here, I find that I have minimal support and help because I do not have any family or friends in the vicinity. As I have worked through my classes, I am glad that I took the chance of not starting my whole life over in order to reach my goals. With the classes and internships required, I have not been able to have time for a job or a social life. Those that I do talk to, I have connected with due to classes and internships and usually centers around classes and homework. Yet for every smile from a child while doing my internship and mentorships, I am glad I am sacrificing any type of social life. Those smiles mean that I am making a difference, even if it's just for the moment. I hope to work soon after graduating, but I have been told by my doctors over the past few years that I need to spend some time healing. As I started college, I became ill and am now being treated for several autoimmune disorders. It causes me to be in a great deal of pain on a daily basis, yet I refuse to give up on my dream of helping children overcome difficult circumstances. I go to my classes, I turn in my work, and I see those kids smile no matter how I feel.