Growing up wheelchair-bound and disabled since birth, I often felt like an outsider in school and in my community. My experiences were shaped by barriers, both physical and emotional, that left me feeling isolated. As a disabled, Hispanic student from El Paso, Texas, I faced discrimination and exclusion, particularly during my high school years. I switched schools almost every year in high school due to health related issues, so I felt stuck in an endless loop of being the ‘new kid’. However, my struggles only inspired me to help create a world where no one else would feel alone because of their identity or abilities. My journey to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where I am now double majoring in mathematics and physics, marked a turning point in my life. College provided a new experience where, for the first time, I felt genuinely welcomed. This acceptance ignited my commitment to giving back—to ensure that others, especially those from underserved or marginalized communities, could experience the same sense of belonging that has empowered me. My primary way of giving back is through advocacy for fellow disabled and minority students. Understanding the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities, I've worked to promote accessibility and inclusivity on campus, working to ensure rights and accommodations for disabled students such as myself. Through my personal experiences, I've been able to alert campus staff to bring change to better accommodate students with disabilities. Through this I hope to aid students who, like me, have faced feelings of isolation throughout their youth by making UMBC more accessible. Additionally, I aim to encourage young Hispanic students in Maryland to go into STEM. Representation in these fields is critical; my dream is not only to become a world-renowned theoretical physicist and earn a Nobel Prize, but to demonstrate to disabled and minority youth that even though it feels improbable, we can do what seems impossible. Giving back to my community matters deeply to me because it shows that what I can’t do physically, I can make up for by advocating for change that can make things better for other people. When I advocate for better accessibility, I’m not only advocating for myself but future generations of disabled students, I am participating in creating a world I wish had existed when I was younger—a world of accessibility and equal opportunity. This scholarship resonates deeply with my commitment. By providing underserved students opportunities for education, the scholarship amplifies voices often silenced by financial and social barriers. I aspire not only to benefit from such generosity but also to pay it forward, by continuing to uplift my community and inspire the next generation of dreamers and achievers. Ultimately, advocating for disabled rights to give back to my community is what’s important to me. I’d like to ensure that every student, regardless of their color, background, ability, or circumstances, has the opportunity to transform their life through STEM education, just as I have.