"It is Not the Mountain We Conquer, But Ourselves."

Growing up as a 1st generation Latino in a community littered with gangs & starved of opportunities, becoming an Aerospace Engineer seemed like a distant reality.

As the second born child of two immigrant parents with no high school diplomas, I was forced to become academically independent at a young age. The impoverished schools I attended provided as much opportunities as realistically possible. However, the limited number of educational opportunities were constantly diminished by gang culture & misallocation of resources.

Despite these limitations, I continued to work hard to make something of myself. There were many times during my journey where I began to drift away from my dreams. In high school, I made very poor decisions & lost sight of my goals which caused me to become someone I was ashamed of. The likeliness of becoming another victim of circumstance became all too real.

Instead of quitting on myself, a deep desire to succeed overwhelmed me and pushed me to become a better version of who I was. That drive led me to a decision that would alter the rest of my life. I decided to become an Aerospace Engineer because engineering was one of the few things I felt truly passionate about. My passion and perseverance carried me over mountains of difficult academic & life-changing experiences.

After nearly 5 years of failures, miseries, joys, and accomplishments, I am nearing the summit of my undergraduate career. I will soon become one of the first people in my family to overcome such a mountain of a challenge. Once I reach the peak, I intend to plant my flag as a symbol of inspiration & assist those born in similar circumstances as me but also strive to become better.

Although I am reaching the end of this difficult journey, I intend to continue conquering many more mountains.