We all need that one person to just push us up and see the better side of ourselves that we don’t always see.
This is my family. My parents and my brother.
This picture is of my mom, me, and my dad.
This is a picture with me and Ms. Verdin.
She was my APUSH teacher.
This is two of my best friends from high school.
Growing up, I was the one that was really hard on myself, I was the one that told myself like,
you know you got to be a doctor, you got to be a lawyer, you got to be in like, in STEM.
I had a lot of doubts about coming to college, especially out of town,
because that’s like, way out of the norms for my family.
Coming from a small town like Waxahachie, there’s very few people that I could really relate to.
Before coming to school, I really had no idea where I was going to go, so I applied tons and tons of places.
As a first-gen student, you know they couldn’t really help me out with like, applications, or anything like that,
FAFSA, stuff like that, but they were always the ones to be like,
you need to go talk to an advisor? We’ll take you.
You need to stay late after school? That’s okay.
They knew that they couldn’t do it personally, but they always supported me when I looked for resources that could.
They have a lot of faith in me, and they tell me that no matter what I do, they’re gonna be happy
and they’re gonna love me unconditionally.
Even if they couldn’t support me financially, they would always to be there to support me, like,
if I had any questions or if I ever felt lonely, like I could just phone them and they’d be right there for me.
After so many years of being in school, she was finally the one that I could be like yes,
this is how I see myself.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have her.
They were just there to cheer me on, and be like well, you’re gonna figure this out, like you’ve got this.
I hope to, you know, just exploit all of the resources that UT has and Austin as a city.
Just to have a better outlook on life, have a more rounded perspective,
and just appreciate life for what it is.
I think I’m such an ambitious person, but I feel like they’re even more ambitious for me.
They see me in certain places that I don’t even see myself yet, which is really nice.
It’s all thanks to her how I see myself in this University.
At UT, like, I have no limits.
Faith and Kaylah, thank you so much.
You guys have gotten me through so many different obstacles and so many different things,
and I’m so glad to have you in my life.
Thank you for believing in me
and pushing me to pursue what I really want.
Thank you for being my motivation, my inspiration, and just like, somebody I can always look up to.
Thank you mom and dad,
gracias a mi abuelita,
I love you guys so much, and you’re the reason I’m here.
Hook 'em!
Hook 'em horns!
Hook 'em!
Hook 'em!
