My story is that of a person who faced a number of difficulties in life, but each time was able to rise up to meet a new challenge. Born in a family of uneducated Hispanic immigrants who only made it to the 8th grade in school, I have always had a strong desire to obtain the best possible education. This was not easy partly because I grew up speaking Spanish, and only learned English at the age of six from watching Sesame Street.
My family could not offer much support to my ambitious dreams. All the time five of us including my parents and two siblings lived in a small studio in Los Angeles. Both of my parents had to work long hours to provide for us, with mother working as a seamstress in a factory and father working as a cook. My brother struggled in school, and my sister never advanced beyond the 7th grade, mainly because her wild behavior made my relatives send her to our family in El Salvador.
Since my parents were Spanish-speaking and my siblings had a hard time studying, I could never get any help with home assignments in my family.At the age of 14, financial circumstances forced me to take up a job in the garment district in Los Angeles. Work took up all my time, and I had trouble just finishing school. My attempt to go to college was also unsuccessful: I had to drop out because of poor grades caused to a great degree by my weak knowledge of English.
I took up a position at a foundation serving crippled children where I met my husband. Soon after that, I followed my husband to Colorado where he attended Colorado State University. I am grateful to him for pointing out to me the importance of education and encouraging me to enroll in Front Range Community College. It was a serious challenge at the time when I had just given birth to my first child and my mother was dying of liver cancer.
I promised to her I would finish college and I did this. My grades improved with time, pushing my dedication to develop my education even further. At the time, I am determined to get a position in social services and want to get a bachelor’s degree to help me do it.
