(1). Although I may not have the strongest GPA among my peers, I consider myself to be an active member in my community. Compared to my affluent friends in college, I was born and raised in a low-income community on the East Side of San Jose. Additionally, my family 's social-economical background placed us at a disadvantage due to the fact in which my parents were not able to afford to pay for certain academic luxuries that my peers have had (private tutors, extracurricular academic activities, summer science camps, etc). However, I was fortunate to have been placed in charter schools for the most part of my K-12 education. Without the incredible guidance and nurturing that I received from the communities at KIPP and LCPA, I would not be here
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My intense longing and passion for education are due to the academic positions I have obtained. These positions were overseen by federally granted programs called TRIO: Upward Bound and GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). The core mission of the TRIO Upward Bound program is to assist low-income, first-generation students succeed secondary education and prepare them academically and socially for enrollment and completion of higher education. As for GEAR-UP, the program focuses on the increasing number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The program spearheads its support services in high-poverty middle and high school communities. With that being said, my role was to mentor high school students in pursuing a degree in higher education. For the most part, the students and I instantly connected. Besides being older than my students by mere 2-4 years, they were able to recognize that similar attributes between their own identities and mine. Hence, they acknowledge me as their mentor. To some, this may not be an impactful story, but try to take a look from another perspective. Many of these students like myself did not grow up with role models or family members that went to college. We felt out of touch and the mere idea of going to college was not within our reality. We are surrounded by
My intense longing and passion for education are due to the academic positions I have obtained. These positions were overseen by federally granted programs called TRIO: Upward Bound and GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). The core mission of the TRIO Upward Bound program is to assist low-income, first-generation students succeed secondary education and prepare them academically and socially for enrollment and completion of higher education. As for GEAR-UP, the program focuses on the increasing number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The program spearheads its support services in high-poverty middle and high school communities. With that being said, my role was to mentor high school students in pursuing a degree in higher education. For the most part, the students and I instantly connected. Besides being older than my students by mere 2-4 years, they were able to recognize that similar attributes between their own identities and mine. Hence, they acknowledge me as their mentor. To some, this may not be an impactful story, but try to take a look from another perspective. Many of these students like myself did not grow up with role models or family members that went to college. We felt out of touch and the mere idea of going to college was not within our reality. We are surrounded by