Relationship Influence Relationships

BACKGROUND/INFLUENCES/CONTRIBUTORY RELATIONSHIPS

During my first year in college, I did not foresee the barriers I would face being a first-generation Latina college student and not having a family member to ask for guidance in navigating my college education. Before attending college, I was aware that once I graduated from high school I would need to work and help my family financially because the occupation that my father held, selling ice cream in a truck, was not stable. Growing up in East Los Angeles and attending James A. Garfield High School, an overcrowded and poorly funded school, made it difficult to navigate my education. My knowledge about higher education was limited by the minimal interactions I had with counselors at my high

Through EAOP, I took a position as a student coordinator at Santa Ana High School, where I provided one-on-one academic advising to over 150 students, 10th - 12th grade. I guided students through the college application process, and discussed with them their educational goals, plans after high school, and the options they have to pursue different opportunities upon graduation. In forming mentorship relationships with the students that I served, I realized that they were unfamiliar with the requirements and process of completing college and financial aid applications because the majority of the students were first-generation, low-income

Students will have a multitude of options based on their interests and the support they need to reach their fullest potential. In addition, as student populations change, based on cultures and backgrounds, I will be flexible and adaptive by creating student and parent engagement workshops to create awareness about, and end stigma against discussing suicide, bullying, mental health, and disability issues. Also, I hope to build partnerships with colleagues in creating a larger fund for my current scholarship for children of street vendors and help expand it Los Angeles County. As a daughter of a street vendor who had limited access to resources, as well as a first-generation Latina college graduate, I will have shown the students I serve, and my community, not only that I am a resource to them, but, more importantly that they can break down barriers themselves. Inclusively, as a James A. Garfield Alumna, I will empower youth in my community to pursue their goals, because representation in particular professions matter. I am confident that my academic and professional experience in the field of education have prepared me with the professionalism that your program demands, and that, given the opportunity, I could be a valuable asset to your