WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.000 music 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.000 I was born in a city in Mexico called Zapopan. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:25.000 I arrived to the country when I was two years old. My parents wanted me to come here because they wanted a better future for me. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:29.000 There was really nothing left for us in Mexico. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:36.000 And in the United States since it's the American dream and the place where we can work and have a future, we decided it'd be better for all of us. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.000 Education is important to me because I think that we all need to be educated 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.000 not just to understand the world but to make it a better place. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.000 And knowing from many of my family members who don't have an education 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:54.000 that even if I go to high school, graduate, or maybe enroll into college 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:59.000 a lot of students and a lot of my family members will see me as a roll model 00:00:59.000 --> 00:00:63.000 and want to follow in my steps and I know that would be better to ensure their future. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000 Ever since I was little I really wanted to help the Hispanic community but I didn't know how I would do that. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.000 I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:17.000 At the end I realized that if I really want to help my community I have to start with the young kids specifically the students 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:21.000 because when they grow up they'll be the ones who can actually make a change. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:28.000 And if they're motivated to become something better then I know I can help us to make the world a better place. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:35.000 music 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:40.000 I was born in Hidalgo, Mexico and I was brought to the US when I was five. 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:46.000 My parents had economic disadvantages at home. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:54.000 My mom never reached middle school. My dad only reached high school. And they were working jobs as they came to them. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.000 They had a hard time feeding us, they had a hard time clothing us. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:61.000 And they just weren't happy with how we were living. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:06.000 I don't remember much of what was in my life in Mexico. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:11.000 I was practically raised here and this is all I know. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000 I'm studying to be a midwife. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.000 Right now I am majoring in gerontology. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:24.000 I plan on finishing that major by next year 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:31.000 and applying to the accelerated nursing so then I can obtain my certificate of midwifery. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.000 I study hard. I work hard. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:42.000 And I do it all for my parents and for my siblings and for my nieces and my nephew and my cousins. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Because they're all looking up to me. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:50.000 My parents are growing older. Their jobs are very labor intensive. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:56.000 And so I work hard so that they can have a future 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:62.000 that they won't be afraid of not having food, not having a home. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.000 I want to be able to provide that for them just as they did that for me. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:13.000 music