Alberto- Hard Work Does Pay Off

I come from two migrant parents who both did not attend college. The siblings I grew up with, because they took care of me the most, all had no interest in academics and a higher education. Because I had no encouragement for being academically successful, my whole elementary experience was a blur where I did not have any aspirations to be successful in school. My family all were academically poor, so I saw any goal related to being academically successful as an impossible dream. My neighborhood was a quiet one, although I felt as if I lived in the ugliest house on the block. With all of these markers on my life and background, I have dreamed of going to college and becoming successful to make my parents proud and show my siblings that we can become successful people in life regardless of our background.One of the hardest challenges I have had to face was my pre-high school experience. I have encountered it all in elementary and middle school: not having proficient grades. When I entered kindergarten, I had to learn the alphabet, and how to read, since I had never been taught by my family. My kindergarten teacher would need to emphasize these basic concepts to me and only as much as she could because of the numerous children in my class who were ahead of me academically. This resulted in my basic understanding throughout my elementary and caused me to receive non-proficient test scores and low grades.When I entered high school, this is where it all changed. I was assigned with basic teachers until my counselors needed to fix my schedule and assigned me to two profoundly influential teachers in my life. One being Ms. Eddy and the other being Mr. Manroe. Ms. Eddy changed my perspective on academics and life, and was one of my first supporters in helping me understand that I could be academically successful. Mr. Manroe trained me to be organized in the terms of academics and helped me with being successful with study habits, decision making, as well as managing paperwork and stress. The rest, they say, is history. I am proud that I have overcome this long and strenuous challenge because now I can help any student with a situation similar to me to better the lives of many people. Overcoming this challenge has helped me become the individual I am in that I now look at things with a chance of change and progression.In 10 years I see myself happy: happy that my parents are happy, happy that my siblings have seen an accomplishment in our family and happy that I have a law degree focused on improving the future of others. My first goal includes going to a 4-year university, particularly the University of Chicago. I want to visit this university to explore my future college experience but my family cannot afford the travel expenses. Another goal is to attend graduate school and attain a Ph.D. in law. With this I will establish a non-profit organization helping kids of low-income families and ethnic minorities with educational support and tutoring. Of course I will also help my parents in their old age. My bachelor’s degree in Sociology will make me more aware of the social aspects necessary to establish my non-profit organization and run the organization successfully. My law degree will make me a senator to implement laws that eliminate societal ills, including immigration.My number one goal in life, however, is to change and help at least one person’s life for the better, which I hope to accomplish through my current and future successes.Thanks to a generous contribution Alberto received a $1,000 sponsorship in March 2014!