Personal Narrative: Upward Bound At The University

My College and Career goals include graduating college and getting a job. I wish to attend the University of Alabama. I plan to major in occupational therapy or speech therapy. After I graduate with my bachelor's degree I wish to get my master's degree. After I finish my schooling I want to receive a job that allows me to provide for my family. I wish to receive this job in my degree's field. After receiving this job I wish to improve to reach a leadership role.

I have defiantly not had a normal or a comfortable life. I have lived in RVs and cars on the streets of NE Portland, been homeless twice and I have left the country on multiple occasions cause of my family financial situation. As recent as two years ago I was in Central America and Southern Mexico looking for a safe and decent place to survive in. I missed a year of school. Currently, I live in a leaky, moldy, single-wide trailer home in Rockwood Neighborhood in Gresham. My parents are divorced; my dad, who I live with, is unemployed, has health issues, and has no formal education. So I provide for him and myself.

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

Serving others by utilizing the lessons I have learned through my experiences and my talents is how I want to live my life. As a first generation college student, I want to integrate myself in programs or start my own mentorship program where I am able to mentor and give back to students who are first generation college students as well. I feel it’s important to reach out to first generation college students because the amount of pressure we receive with little to no guidance can be discouraging and lead us to feel alone in this process.

they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please

Coming to Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in social work has been one of the best things I have done in the year of 2016. I can remember awaiting my acceptance into Virginia Commonwealth University and instantly choosing to attend. For the remainder of my senior year of high school, I couldn’t wait to pack up and leave for VCU. Before I knew it, it was August 20, 2016, move-in day. Aside from leaving my parents and hometown, I was a bit upset about having to quit my job, the anxiety of being a broke college student hit me before I even stepped on campus. On move in day I was a bit anxious and a little nervous to leave my parents but at the same time I was ready to leave and explore something new on my own.

1. What experience do you like talking about the most? What has been the most interesting, intriguing, and exciting part of your life- why, and what did you learn from it?

To earn a degree from a prestigious institution like the University of Texas at Austin has never been realistic goal for me. Becoming a first generation college student has had many challenges that I have overcame. Being from Austin I have always been a longhorn at heart, but was told by my peers that I was destined to follow in the footsteps of my parents, living on the poverty line when I reached adult hood.

In the fall of 2005, I took my first steps onto the campus of Appalachian State University with my sister who was entering as a freshman. One of my most vivid memories from my childhood is walking hand in hand with my then eighteen year old, wide eyed, and prospective sister into the Watauga dorms. Afterwards, as we left down King Street, I distinctly remember gazing back towards the magnificent North Carolina mountains and yearning to stay. Even at the age of five, I knew that one day I would follow in her footsteps and become an Appalachian Mountaineer.

I am very fortunate to receive the endless support from the Uplift Education College Prep program. I would have never thought about preparing for college as early if it was not for the teachers and counselors’ guidances. They helped me working through the college tests but also hosting writing classes to prepare us with the most outstanding college application. Academically, I have had the most passionate teachers who willing to go beyond the lesson and infuse us with wisdom and encouragements. I feel challenged through my classes, similar to a college level course I have experienced during my visit. In class When working in robotics, my coach always pushes me to think of the ending game when working on projects. With these beneficial life

Waking up at Murray State University on a regular Tuesday seems boring. I could have gone to my Economics lecture like a responsible student should had. (Theme number one karma for not attending class). After rolling out of bed to see the Spring semester sky bright and blue. I thought to myself, why do I have lecture today. I went about my morning routine taking a shower and brushing my teeth like a normal human. Wondering what to wear that morning I checked the weather app. Just because the sky is blue doesn’t mean it’s always warm outside. The weather app read 75 degrees, making my pain to go to class even more dreary. I finished getting dressed for this amazing Spring day of Economics lecture, “sarcasm at its best”. While packing up my backpack to

Yesterday was February 5th, 2016. I was writing a journal while I’m eating my dinner in a kitchen. I think backward to the time I was just awake.

For as long as I can remember I have dreamed about becoming a student at the University of Arizona. I was born in Tucson and as a little kid I would always look at “A” mountain and believed that one day I would be a wildcat. Though I was not raised in Tucson I lived fairly close, I come from a small town Mammoth, Arizona. Many people from this town after they graduate from high school usually get trapped into working at the Asarco mine. I knew that I did not want to work there.

Have you ever met someone for the first time, and felt like you knew them since you were born? That is how I felt about my best friend Dede. We both live on E84, on the same floor but never met each other until our Evangelism class last semester. She was friends with a girl that I had met previously but had not seen in a while. She then introduced me to Dede, we talked for a while, and exchanged numbers. I left the religious hall and began to walk back to my dorm. Suddenly, I heard Dede screaming my name so I turned around, there she was bent over trying to catch her breath. We then began to walk together and talk about our experiences at Liberty University. We walked back to the dorm together, and that is how our friendship started.

Working your way through college can be a daunting journey to say the least. There have been a myriad of challenges to overcome, both foreseen and unexpected. A year and half ago I decided to follow my dream of moving to California and obtaining a degree in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. The decision to follow my passion for science invoked both fear and excitement within myself. I didn’t have the support of many friends and family, as I am originally from the East Coast, many of them seen my moving to California as an unrealistic and unnecessary goal. Despite my own self-doubts and the discouragement of my family I made the decision to relocate to California. That decision manifested the most significant chapter in my life to date. In an extremely short period of time I had to find an apartment, in the Bay Area, one of the most competitive and costly rental markets in the country as well as enroll in school, apply for aid and secure stable