It is imperative that I pursue a higher education because obtaining a four year college degree opens opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to me.  As a Latina student growing up in the Bay Area, I have encountered lots of stereotypes regarding both my Mexican descent and about being a young woman wanting to pursue a career in science.  In helping my mother raise my autistic and mentally challenged brother, I have learned that disabled children lack many resources that would be helpful to their development.  As a result, I have gravitated towards a field which will allow me to manipulate this—engineering.  As an engineer, I will specialize in Architectural Engineering, focusing on designing buildings for disabled children.  Within these buildings, disabled children will find not only a resourceful environment, but a place where they can express themselves, a place where they can be kids, a place where they can meet kids going through the same thing, a place where they have an opportunity to work with understanding and compassionate people, a place where they feel liberated and where families receive support.  Many may wonder why I might not want to become a physician or a physical therapist, or even a social worker for that matter. My answer is simply this:  Why specialize in only one specialty, when I can dedicate my time and energy into providing an environment where I can bring all those specialties together, only to unlock the disabled child’s full potential.  Accomplishing the goals I have set for myself and becoming a female scientist would contribute to my own sense of well being.  I believe that living a balanced lifestyle in which one can be content with their career and with their personal life is another critical component in living a long and healthy life.  I have witnessed the consequences and the degrading effects of working in an environment unsuitable for your health.  My father, for example, works in construction and specializes in asbestos demolition.  For fifteen years he has labored in one of the most dangerous jobs that would otherwise not be taken care of.  Being exposed to asbestos on a daily basis is detrimental to his health.  Asbestos causes serious illnesses including mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.  My mother, on the other end of the spectrum, labors on a daily basis by cleaning houses for families in order to make a living.  While this is not detrimental to her health in the means of disease and cancer, it is detrimental to her health because she is an old woman in an industry involving manual labor.   

It pains me to see both my parents struggling to make a living.  Ideally, they should be retired at their age; instead, they are constantly working to bring home money for food and bills.  As a first generation student pursuing a higher education, I wish to receive my Bachelor’s Degree.  Not only will I be doing it for my own sense of well being, but for my community and as a tribute to my parents.