What is your hometown? Baldwin Park, CA

What colleges did you attend? Degrees earned? Mt. SAC social and behavioral sciences emphasis (AA); Sociology AA-T; Social Justice AA-T
Administration of Justice AS-T
CSU East Bay BA- Criminal Justice and Sociology (Present)

What motivated you to go to college? My mom really drilled into me that college education would help me get the farthest in life, so I made it my mission to be able to attend college and thrive in my environment.

Describe your college experience as first-generation. It was hard, I had questions that my parents couldn't answer, but it also gave me that kick in the butt that I needed to be bale to break out of my comfort zone so that I could actively go out and look for the things I needed.

What unique challenges did you face? Covid taking away the very beginning of my college experience was a huge challenge to overcome, I was barely getting into the groove of things when everything changed. But the support from siblings also doing online learning helped me maintain myself and my academics.

How did you overcome those challenges? My family as with most challenges are what help me overcome my challenges, my parents remind me that the sky is the limit and my siblings push me to reach farther than the sky.

What did you advise other first-generation students? Stand in every single line, even if you don't know what they are giving out, wether a stack of sticky notes, water bottle, or opportunity that changes your life, you can always benefit from standing in line. Also ask any and all questions that you have, you might not be the only one wondering about it, but you and others will benefit from you asking your question, the worst they can say is no.