To me, "bayanihan" is more than just a concept of helping each other out when we need it the most. In my family, bayanihan is a consistent lifestyle that has not, and will not go out of practice. Growing up in Manila, Philippines, my parents had to make ends meet to send me to school. Tuition wasn't free, and my mom couldn't work, leaving us to rely on my dad and other family members for financial assistance. My dad only worked one job and despite multiple financial struggles, he never came home without a treat for me, or a "pasalubong". Though we weren't very financially stable, I was raised to be very family-oriented, which makes me "rich". My early childhood memories consisted of multiple sacrifices wether it was to ensure my cousins receive medical attention or even sharing our scarce resources with neighbors during typhoons. Though not fond, nor heartwarming, I wouldn't trade my childhood or family for anything. With the help of my grandmother, at seven-years-old, my mother and I moved to America in hopes for better job and school opportunities. My mother never failed to remind me how important it was to keep our culture close to me and acknowledge my priorities. Since she never finished her college education, she did not have much job opportunities when we moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. This caused us to often rely on family once again as well as EBT and SNAP food benefits. My mother and I enjoyed going over to our neighbor's and friends' houses during the holidays because it meant that we wouldn't have to worry about what our next meal was going to be. I have always acknowledged my mom's never-ending hard work and efforts and rather than feeling pity or dismay, I chose this as my motivation to pursue a higher education in hopes to retire her in the future. My mother and I have been in and out of homes and cities for years. I am now eighteen-years-old living in El Paso, Texas. I have never forgotten my roots, nor the people that helped me get to where I am now. My mother is still trying to make ends meet and with my growing ambition and motivation, I was able to graduate high school in June 2025! As a surprise, and a gift, for my mother, I was proud to tell her that I graduated in the top 10% of my senior class. In the multiple high school programs that I participated in, I was also able to obtain my Certified Medical Assisting certification at seventeen-years-old. I also learned how to apply for scholarships, grants and multiple colleges, something my mother tells me is out of her comprehension. With all of my accomplishments, I decided to add this to my reasons to pursue a higher education. Shortly after graduation, I sent money to the Philippines and hosted a "handaan". I ensured that my family and my village slept with a full stomach and had dinner for the night. I am now in my first semester of college, with many more to go. When I finish my college degree in four years, I aim to give back to the community that helped me grow, survive and live. Every year, my mother and I try to spend a little more to feed the less fortunate, or even send school supplies to struggling schools in the Philippines. In the future, I wish to continue these practices and create a community that is safe and welcoming for families like mine that faced countless of obstacles.

I am a first generation student from the Philippines and immigrated to America at only 8-years-old. As I grew up, I realized the importance of going to college. Both of my parents unenrolled from college in order to provide for my brother and I. Seeing their hardships heavily influenced my decision to go to college because I witnessed my parents work many extra shifts as well as seek better work opportunities in other countries. Growing up, I never had much time with my parents as they were always very busy with work. Furthermore, my brother enlisted in the military shortly after graduating high school, so we never had time to bond as well. As a Southeast Asian with a family that has a provider mentality, it creates pressure for me to start and finish college to help my family and relieve them of financial stress. I want to give back to my parents and help them pay for the medical surgeries that they both desperately need. While in high school, I am able to take many STEM related classes. One of which is a clinical class where I was able to obtain my certification of Clinical Medical Assisting. When I did my clinical rotations for this program, I encountered many patients with different backgrounds and histories. This made me realized how much a medical test can impact one’s life. Being able to interact with these patients and hear about their stories drives me to do everything to provide them with accurate results and aid them with their health plans. With this in mind, I plan to study Clinical Laboratory Science in college. This career consists of laboratory testing of specimens taken from people with all kinds of backgrounds. With my medical assisting experience, I understand that my tests have a face, a family, and a life behind it. In the future, I want to be able to provide patients and family with closure or relief in their medical journey. With my experience with patients, I understood how important it is to give back and help others in need. In my spare time, I volunteer at places like food pantries and even community events. Seeing happiness and smiles in my community of El Paso, Texas drives me to study hard in order to create a healthier place for many families. However, when I am not volunteering for my community or school, I stay at home to take care of my niece and my nephew. I help around however I can because I understand that my sister-in-law and my brother also have their own personal lives. I also enjoy spending time with them because I get to know what goes on in their minds, especially since my nephew is diagnosed with autism. Furthermore, I also managed sports while in high school as well as joined a few. This gave me many life long relationships with the players and the coaches. They have all inspired and motivated me to strive for higher in both sports and academics. Overall, I am beyond proud of being Southeast Asian. I represent my culture and my family in hopes that I can be a role model for the younger generation. I want to prove to them that the impossible can be possible and that they should have great ambition. I believe it is important for them to see that I am just like them and grew up in the same place they did. My goal is not only to create healthier communities, but also inspire those who are discouraged and have doubts.

Growing up, I felt unmotivated to pursue a college degree due to others making me feel inferior. Regardless, I am nothing but committed and certain about attending and graduating from a university. Being a Filipino immigrant meant that you got to hear others’ stories of their more fortunate background. It made me feel unmotivated and inferior to know that my peers have a better chance at succeeding in their studies just because their parents are doctors or directors of finance. However, as I grew up, I realized that those experiences do not matter. In fact, hearing my friends’ stories about their lives motivate me even more to pursue such higher education. Currently, I am number ten in my graduating class of two hundred and eighteen. This also means that I am graduating in the top ten percent of my class. This goes to prove that the way you grew up does not define your future. Unfortunately, immigrant parents never got to finish college, but I am fortunate enough to have this title to tell them and others about. This also proves to myself that I can achieve such high accomplishments that I never thought would be possible, and it motivates me to strive for more. I aim to pursue a college degree to prove to myself and others my full potential. I do not want my intelligence, resilience, and perseverance to go to waste. In fact, I would want to enhance it furthermore. Someday, I aim to inspire others that they, too, can achieve such accomplishments and have such titles. I want to go to college and get a bachelor’s degree in chemistry to prove to my younger self that my classmates’ lives do not affect me or my future. I believe that all these years of having a determined mindset led me to the title of being top ten percent. Additionally, I want to be able to prove to my younger self that I can achieve great things despite my less fortunate background. This is something I have not and will not take for granted, and it is now another one of my goals in college to achieve a title of a similar value. Furthermore, I also want to show others that anyone could become something great and past experiences does not define the outcome of their future. I believe that there is no student that is undeserving of such things like a scholarship or a college degree. With enough opportunities presented, student will be able to show their full potential.

Many students participate in community service to contribute to their community. However, I strive to create a system that makes a long-lasting impact. When I think about giving back, I picture myself providing essential healthcare services to my community. As a Filipino immigrant, I have personally witnessed the effects of inadequate healthcare. My country’s lack of financial support in healthcare results in limited access to basic needs, such as vaccines. At a young age, I was fortunate enough to receive regular check-ups and flu shots when needed. However, millions of Filipinos do not receive the same treatment. Friends and families must beg, steal, borrow, or barter to ensure treatment for their loved ones, which should never be the case. Someday, I envision myself giving out free examinations and vitamins to the community I grew up in. I want to give a sense of security and relieve them of worries that come with having to pay such absurd prices for necessities like insulin. I want to tell families that they are just experiencing headaches from the Philippine heat and not from serious sicknesses they suspect. I want children that are my age to focus on studies and college rather than working multiple jobs to provide medicine for their parents. I envision myself receiving many thanks for relieving families of burdens. Volunteering to my community in El Paso, Texas gave me a different perspective of life. It made me feel ecstatic to know that I was able to help a single father by doing his family’s taxes for free or a single mother by organizing an easter egg hunt for children at an apartment complex. The appreciation and smiles that come from El Pasoans motivate me to continue giving back. This is why I aim to strive in creating a free healthcare service system to the people of Marikina City, Philippines because picturing their joy truly inspires me even more. Aiding the community that raised me has always been a goal of mine. With enough education and experience towards the health science field, I wish to provide the same services to families in need the way I received them when I was little. Currently, I am enrolled in a program at my school in hopes to acquire a Medical Assistant certification. If successful, I plan to work after graduation as a medical assistant at my local clinic. Aside from paying for college, I want to use the money I earn to periodically give back and aid my community in Marikina City, Philippines.

College is place that offers higher education that most teenagers are not entirely prepared for. This comes with many challenges that most have not realized or comprehend. One of which is being a first-generation student. I am a first-generation student in my family, so I never received advice or experiences from my parents about going to college. Having to pay thousands of dollars for my education worries me as much as it does my parents. Currently, I only live with my mother because we don’t have any other relatives that reside in El Paso, Texas. Additionally, my father is working abroad, and often struggles maintaining a stable job. This makes me believe that I am a burden because of how much I would have to pay for college. However, I am part of the Upward Bound Program which enlightens and informs me about all the scholarship opportunities out there available for me. I plan to overcome this challenge by applying to countless of scholarships to relieve my mother of the burden of having to help pay for my education. My mother and I are Filipino immigrants, and she had to work her absolute hardest to provide us with a better lifestyle. This shows me of her endless resilience and perseverance because she strives to ensure more educational opportunities for me. Soon, I want to be able to give back and repay my mother for everything that she has done for me. I want to show her that I am capable of attending and finishing college to assure her that all her hard work was worth it. I want to share my own struggles and experiences of being an immigrant to acquire scholarships, so that my mother does not have to worry about myself. Paying for my tuition, books, or even transportation are challenges that I must overcome on my own. Currently, I am studying at my high school to acquire a Medical Assistant certification by graduation. If successful, I plan on working as a medical assistant over the summer before my freshman year of college. I plan on using the money that I earn to pay for my education. I gain interest in this career field after my grandmother passed away after petitioning my family and I to immigrate to the United States. Though I was young, I always felt my mother's sadness and the effects of my grandmother's loss. Transitioning to college is especially difficult for me since my parents do not have enough knowledge of it to guide me in this process. However, I plan to be as resilient as my mother and as motivated as my dad in order to pursue a higher education than they ever got to.