In the beginning of the novel Lizet is struggling with school. She is wondering if she really made the right choice in attending Rawlings University. This way of thinking is all do to the fact that she plagiarized parts of her essay, and the committee were discussing how they would handle the situation. The committee took into account the previous school she attended and realized that she didn’t come to Rawlings as prepared as the other students. When the committee discussed with her the terms of her agreement to stay at Rawlings she responded, “I wanted to be at Rawlings, and I was grateful they’d taken my background into consideration I wanted to rise”(139). She realized herself that she wanted to better herself and would do anything to do
