Why did you choose to attend an early college high school?
I know what it’s like to struggle in life and have to make good things come from bad circumstances. I knew early college was an important opportunity I couldn’t miss. I felt like opportunities were much more narrowed down for me, but seeing that early college could provide me with the opportunities I wanted opened a lot of doors.

Why is a college education important to you?
College helps you as a person. You learn how to communicate, how to take action to help your community, and how to network with people around you. Even though this is just my first year at UHD, I have met so many new people, networked with companies, and gotten involved in so many organizations on campus. If it weren’t for college, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have right now.

What are some challenges and successes you’ve had in college so far?
My first semester, I was kind of freaking out. I walked into junior-level classes as a seventeen-year-old girl. Since UHD is a commuter campus, the minimum age of the students around me was 25 or 26. It really lowered my self-esteem. But I started getting involved on campus. For example, I’m president of the UHD chapter of the Mathematical Association of America. I’m part of the UHD Scholars Academy, a STEM program. I’m also a peer tutor and mentor for other college students. That’s really helped me know that I am actually doing well. [UHD Scholars Program Coordinator] Mr. Kuzmick is always there for me. The people around me in GTF Scholars understand what it’s like, and it’s nice to be able to connect to people like that.

How has being a GTF Scholar impacted your college experience?
At first, I thought I was in this alone. But with GTF Scholars, we’re a close-knit family. We have a lounge area where we can talk about our problems, our classes, and how we’re doing, and we help each other out. We understand what it’s like to be young students in classes with older students, and what it’s like to struggle. We motivate each other and have each other’s backs.

What do you see yourself doing after college?
I’d like to get a PhD in Bioinformatics because I’m really interested in genes and biology. My end goal is to become a computational synthetic biologist. I want to develop algorithms to find cancerous genes faster so we can discover a cure.

Why did you choose to attend an early college high school?
My mom is a single mother, so I grew up seeing her struggle between going to work and raising me. I felt like early college would help me in the future to stand out from other students and would give me an opportunity to get the American dream. I want to give everything back to her. She worked really hard and she told me her struggles, and I want to continue her struggle but get better.

Why is a college education important to you?
College gives me opportunities few other people have. I’ve traveled overseas to my mom’s home country, and I’ve seen that students there don’t have the same educational opportunities I do.

What are some challenges and successes you’ve had in college so far?
One of the challenges was transitioning from high school to college and trying to understand myself alone. In my high school it was always a close-knit community and you always had friends, faculty, and staff helping you. Going to college […] I had to understand myself and who I am alone, and that’s the toughest thing I had to do. I didn’t know how to take care of myself until I actually had to do it without my mom being there. But I would consider this challenge a success as well because I overcame it. I’ve learned to like being alone and independent.

How has being a GTF Scholar impacted your college experience?
Being a scholar has helped me have a smooth transition from high school to college life. Transferring my credits over was super smooth. Also, going to school without a financial burden has made it easier for me to focus on my education because I don’t have to worry about paying for college and having enough money for food.

What do you see yourself doing after college?
I hope to work for a company overseas and travel back and forth. I would also like to open my own business to help other young people like me to pay forward what GTF has done for me.

Why did you choose to attend an early college high school?
Although not a lot of people in my family are college educated, they put a big spotlight on education. They told me education was my way to have a better life, so from elementary school I knew I wanted to go to college. When I learned about early college, I thought, why not get ahead two years and get some free education?

Why is a college education important to you?
My parents didn’t go to college, and they still struggle to make ends meet. I know that once you have a college degree, your possibilities are endless, and your income is much more than someone who doesn’t have a high school diploma.

What are some challenges and successes you’ve had in college so far?
One challenge was adapting to the culture at Texas A&M, which is a predominantly white institution, and I come from a place where the numbers were more even. That made it tough to assimilate. But I have found my community, which makes it a lot better. I’ve been pretty successful academically and with managing my time. I’m getting ready to start applying to graduate school.

How has being a GTF Scholar impacted your college experience?
Being in a cohort of GTF Scholars makes it not as hard to transition because they know where you come from, and they have the same issues like having trouble getting into a certain major due to coming in with so many hours. Being part of a cohort just makes you feel closer. My best friend and my roommate are both part of my GTF Scholars cohort, and that has made making friends a lot easier.

What do you see yourself doing after college?
I hope to get a master’s degree in HR Management and work high up in a corporation. I want to make a difference for companies and their employees. My passion is diversity and inclusion because I want to help companies become diverse and make everyone feel included.