Who am I?

My parents came here from Chile with my brother a couple of years before I was born, so I am the gringa of the family. I was born in Boston and raised in Revere surrounded by every type of person you could think of. Me and my friends were all children of immmigrants from all different places. I am really proud of where I'm from, but I also saw the struggles we faced. Seeing my parents, my friends and their parents, really everyone working hard, struggling, and thriving was probably the most influential thing that will ever happen to me. When I think about what it means to "make it" I think about being able to turn around from wherever I am and using the resources I have to help my people.

In high school, I used to volunteer at the Revere Community School. It is a night school for adult learners in the community. They taught ESOL classes, HiSET classes, computer classes, financial literacy classes, citizenship classes, etc. At first, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, I just wanted to help. After school ended, I would walk over to a cramped office and help out my boss Fatou with whatever she needed. I did things like help register students, look for housing and career resources, set up classrooms, enter in data for hundreds of students, but I also made a new website for them. At the time, I didn't know a thing about making websites so I used google sites and tried my best. I think it came out fine and they still use and update it today, but I was never happy with it. I had all of these ideas that I just couldn't make happen. I always dreamt about making them a proper site because they truly deserve it. They changed so many lives and took care of so many people, including me. I will never forget the night before winter break when classes were ending. Fatou sent me home with food and a get well card for my mom when she was sick and in the hospital and things were tight at home. I hope I can use what I learn at RC to help me reach this goal and help me repay her.

I got the opportunity to go to college and I will always be grateful for that, but it was a struggle. I was a first gen and low income student and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't even know what an "office hour" was when I got there. I felt so out of place, just "a diversity quota filler" as someone called me. I worked like crazy just to afford the tuition. I worked late nights that became the mornings, two jobs at times, 2 days straight without sleeping once, got my arm crushed by a 300lb ladder. All that just to have 43 cents in my bank account after paying my tuition. I actually have a screenshot of my banking app that I keep on hand for motivation. On the last day of finals during my freshman year, I literaly did not have the $2.40 to take the T back home to Revere. I am not saying this to get pity, I just want to show you that I have resilence and grit. Despite all the setbacks and obstacles (and undiagnosed ADHD at the time), I studied hard and did it.