I am a recipient of the Opportunity Scholarship. This scholarship seemed like an answered prayer that not only I have been praying for, but also my family and many others like me. Throughout high school, the teachers always asked me where I wanted to go to college. They started asking me these question at the beginning of my freshman year in high school. None of it really ever became real to me. To me, it was as if all these people were just getting paid to ask these questions. I didn’t start taking it seriously until I started to read more about college and careers. I went on to read about the SAT scores and the high GPA that was required to get into all of these colleges. That’s really when I realized that I need to be at the top of my class in order to get a career that I loved and something I could make a difference in. This was my mindset throughout high school. I was going to be the best student that I possibly could be. I made the honor roll, held high positions in clubs, was involved in varsity sports, and graduated with an honors diploma.

Once I graduated at the top of my class, that’s when the world shut its doors in my face. No one ever told me that I was going to have to pay out of pocket money for college. Not to mention that I wasn’t only going to have to do the former but also pay out of state college tuition. At the time of my graduation, the DACA program was not in effect. That meant that I did not have a social security number to use for a job so that I could even attempt to pay for my ridiculous tuition. My dream of getting a second education diminished quickly.

When I was awarded the Opportunity Scholarship this year, 2016, I had already been out of school for almost 4 years. Under the DACA program, I had been working in a factory that paid really well. I had already made up my mind that this was something that I was going to do for the rest of my life. I was ecstatic to have received this scholarship, though. Since I already had a place on my own and a fiancée, things started to get difficult. I also had a vehicle I had just gotten a loan for. Amongst trying to pay for a wedding, a house, and a car there were other issues that arose when I decided to follow my dreams and quit my job to pursue an education.

My family is a very unified family. Most of my family is in Mexico, therefore, my mother, father, siblings, an aunt and cousins were all I had. They all stayed 12 hours away from Delaware State University, where I moved to go to college. This opportunity is definitely a dream come true. I am beyond grateful for Dom Graham, co- founder of the scholarship. Although this is an amazing beginning to a new life, leaving my old life is very difficult and I often find myself questioning my decision. I have cried myself to sleep almost every night since I arrived here. I know that this is the type of new beginning that my mother was aiming for when she left her family in Mexico. Ergo, I am here to show the United States, Mexico, and the whole world that only because all doors get shut in your face, someone will always be there to open it from the other side