Despite working multiple jobs to support her parents, brothers and sister, Ms. Mendoza maintains mostly A's and B's at Cerritos College, California. Her story of hard-work, perseverance, and resilience is truly touching and inspiring immigrants and natives alike to never give up education and dream. We have no doubt she'll earn her nursing degree and move on to make even greater contributions to society.

Ms. Mendoza's Scholarship Essay

I am Lacksly Mendoza, an immigrant from the Philippines, a sister to four younger siblings, a paraeducator in the morning , a college student in the afternoon and a cashier at night. I can also be the friendly neighborhood baby sitter during the weekend. I am in the pursuit of becoming a registered nurse.

Four years ago, my family and I migrated from the Philippines to the United States hoping for a better life. We packed the few things we have and left with the hope of starting a new, much better life here in the United States. When we first came here we didn’t have much, just a few hundred bucks which we were hoping to be enough for our meals till one of my parents or I find a job. We lived with my aunt who never failed to remind us how indebted we were to her. We are a family of seven so we definitely took up some space in her house no matter how much we tried not to. We got our first apartment through my grandfather who helped us with the security deposit and in return, we took him in with us and took care of him. Since we have no money for furnitures, we slept on the floor with a few pillows and a blanket as our cushion. We had a little tv that my uncle donated and a DVD player that we used to play the DVDs we borrowed from the public library so we could keep the kids entertained. I remembered getting our first mattress, it was my aunt’s old one. It was such a delight because finally, my siblings and my mom can sleep comfortably. I eventually got a bunk bed to share with my sister donated by the church we go to. It was a tiny apartment but it was home.

For the first year I was here in the U.S., I wasn’t given the chance to go to school yet because of my residency. I will have to wait for a year so I can go to school a lot cheaper. That year, I focused on looking for things to do to help my family. I got my first job as a paraeducator for special ed. It came to me unexpectedly for it was offered by my brother’s IEP team because my brother is in the special ed program as well. I remember the first check I got. I took my family to a Skecher’s outlet and bought each one of them a pair of shoes. My heart was filled, they are the reason why I work hard in the first place. A few months later, my dad was hired as a caregiver. My mom started working as a my grandpa’s IHSS caregiver. I started going to school as well as my siblings. We were making enough to pay the bills but still struggling to make ends meet. There were some bumps on the road but things were getting better. Or so I thought.

My grandpa’s health deteriorated. He was 98 years old so there’s really no external factors to blame but only his old age. He was at the hospital for almost two months before he was traveled back to the Philippines to fulfill his final wish. Due to this, my mom lost her job and my dad had to take care of him and went with him to the Philippines. No one was making money aside from me so that moment I have kids to feed, bills and rent to singlehandedly pay. My job doesn’t pay enough for me to cover all that so I looked for another job. I was hired as a cashier. I was working in the morning, going to school in the afternoon and worked as a cashier till early in the morning. My average sleep is between 3-4 hours but this I didn’t mind. I was struggling to keep my grade’s up. I was devastated. I had to drop classes so I can have more time to work. I took out a student loan to pay for our rent and bills. Eventually, I took a break from school so I can just focus on working. I was working more than 80 hours a week. I was exhausted but I cannot show that I’m struggling because I was afraid my family would crumble. I am their strength. I am willing to do all of this all over again for my family.

Few months since my grandpa and my dad went to the Philippines, my grandpa died. My dad went back here and was hired as a sales associate at the company where I am working at. My mom applied in the same company and was hired as well. With both my parents working, it took off a little load on my shoulders but since both of them are only getting minimum wage, we are still struggling. As of now I still work three jobs but I am glad my family has a roof above their heads and food in their belly.