Four thousand nine hundred miles from campus, I sat at a table with one of my best friends and  15 other students I had never met before. Everyone had different accents, was studying different topics and came from different parts of the world. On my left, two people spoke German, and on my right, people discussed the latest football match. Our ... [Read More…]

Every day before school, starting in kindergarten, my parents would tell me, “90 or above,” a daily reminder that I needed to make an A. I once joked with them that most parents tell their kids, “Have a great day at school,” or “I love you” before drop-off. So now, they say, “90 or above, and I love you.” They’ve become more understanding ... [Read More…]

There is a false societal narrative that hinders neurodivergent people from receiving the help they need. The narrative has created a divide, pushing those who struggle deeper into disconnection. Division and hindrance are solely manufactured by words.  When someone is angry, it’s easy to throw a label on them, call them bipolar, because our ... [Read More…]

Many people get excited about being the first in their family to do something. For me, being a first-generation Latino college student is something I really take to heart. I grew up with an absent father due to his deportation when I was just five years old, which meant my mom and grandma raised me and my siblings. Being on a fixed income was also ... [Read More…]

Much like this sentence, I am short. I have been on the short end of the stick my entire life, which I once thought was a good thing, but I was enlightened that was not the meaning of the saying later on.  Being short gets a bad rap. People who are short are often made fun of or thought of as lesser in more than a physical way.  I’ve ... [Read More…]

I will never forget the moment I felt everything I had worked for and my entire career path discredited in one conversation. A conversation not with a stranger but among my inner circle. The people who had seen behind the scenes of my work for the past three years still could not grasp the significance of what I do. When discussing a recent ... [Read More…]

My dad gave my sister and me the creativity gene and made sure that we leaned into it growing up. We were always making things. We drew on the sidewalk, built sandcastles, carved pumpkins, built cardboard cars and all of the other things normal kids do, but alongside our very talented dad. I knew what good art looked like before I knew how to read, ... [Read More…]

I played both volleyball and basketball in high school, and both of these sports have given me skills that I will use throughout my life, going beyond shooting a free throw or hitting the 10-foot line.  Very few high school athletes will go on to play their sport in college, and even fewer still will go on to professional leagues. However, ... [Read More…]