I grew up in Dallas, Texas, in a family where college wasn’t part of the picture. My grandparents never had the chance to go to school, my dad had to leave high school to help support his family, and my mom immigrated from Mexico in middle school and finished with a high school degree. Still, my parents always pushed us to work hard and stay focused.
They used to say, “the harder you work, the luckier you are,” and warned us never to get comfortable with complacency. That mindset stuck with me. My brother and sister were the first to go to college, and I followed, eventually leaving Texas to attend a competitive school and play collegiate softball.
I’m studying biology with the goal of working in nuclear energy because I care deeply about sustainability and the future of our planet. It hasn’t always been easy. I had to figure a lot out on my own without a parental figure to guide me by proofreading an essay or explaining the do’s and don’ts of college applications, but that journey taught me how much strength can come from self-determination.
Today, my siblings and I have become examples for our younger cousins and proof that the cycle can be broken. We’ve made education part of our family’s story and are building a future where hard work and high standards are just the baseline.
From Texas to Connecticut a mosaic of experiences
