My Path To A College Education

“Good things come to hard-working people” is what my parents told me when we talked about our move to the U.S. My family and I originated from the state of Michoacán, a rough part of Mexico where the drug trade was a large problem. My parents, a couple that believed in making money the honorable way, chose to avoid the booming business in Michoacán, which was the selling and purchasing of illegal drugs. Instead, they remained in poverty, living day by day, sometimes barely having enough money for one meagerly meal per day, just to retain their honor. They never succumbed to the temptations of easy money and were always positive despite their economic problems. When my mother gave birth to me, all my parents wanted to do was to instill within me their strong morals and ethics and, most importantly, to provide a better future for me, even if it meant having to make sacrifices. That is why they chose to bring what was then their only child to the land of opportunity, the United States of America.

My father traveled to America alone and worked for about a year until he was able to find an apartment to settle in. What little money he could get, my father would send to my mother, or would save in order to pay for my mother’s and my way to America. Once he saved the enough money, my mother walked across the U.S.-Mexico border with me, a two year old baby crying my heart out, in hope of a better future for her child. She was led by money-hungry smugglers who could care less for our lives, through tough terrain and solitary hills in which many perils lay. She had to carry me up steep slopes and down even steeper slopes. At the same time, she had to be on her toes, for the people she traveled with were not trustworthy. The smugglers would do anything to ensure they didn’t get caught, so when I began to cry when immigration patrol was inspecting the area and the smugglers and migrants were hidden behind some rocks, the smugglers took me from my mother by force and drugged me with an unknown substance. They would not jeopardize their business because of a baby. After weeks of traveling through the rugged, hilly landscape and then through many California cities, my mother and I had safely made it to Oakland, where we met with my father after a whole year of separation.

There were many job opportunities for my father in Oakland, and he earned enough money to properly feed and clothe me, something he had not been able to do in Mexico. However, the societal conditions here were not any better than in Mexico; the streets were swarming with drug dealers, thieves, gangsters, and many other potential dangers. The huge difference, however, was that through the mind-deteriorating environment in this new home, there existed a chance of progressing, a chance of getting an education and succeeding in life, which was exactly what my parents wanted for me.

At four years old, I attended a head start program, and by third grade was becoming fluent in English. Although I had the disadvantage of learning English as a second language, I was soon performing as well as any other of my classmates on my middle school work, and I eventually surpassed them, even though they had been born in the United States. During that time, I was motivated by the praise of my parents, and partly by the astonishment of my middle school teachers at a low-income student from East Oakland being able to perform at the academic level that I was performing. I was beginning to see what I could achieve, and that in itself was motivation enough for the moment.

Through hard work in middle school at Dolores Huerta Learning Academy, I obtained good grades and became well acquainted with many people in the school. In eighth grade, the advice my parents had given me was put to the test. I ran for school president, working hard to make sure that my classmates knew I was all about action, not just talk. I organized after school sports activities, bake sales, and movie nights in order to prove my leadership skills to the school. Like my parents had told me, hard work pays off; I became school president, making my parents proud in the process. It was the first time that I felt good at accomplishing something not just because of my parents, but because of my own, personal ambition.

As I entered high school and became more independent of my parents, I had to take on a new leadership position, this time more difficult and, to me, more important than the position I had held at Dolores Huerta Learning Academy. My friends in high school began to mature physically, which, in the case of the youth in East Oakland, is not always a good thing. The kids I had known who had aspired to become doctors, firemen, and policemen when they were in middle school now ran amuck in the streets, joining gangs, or selling drugs. Some of them attempted to “stay above the influence,” only to be coaxed into doing drugs or committing crimes soon thereafter. Then, there were some who had managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. However, the streets of East Oakland, as I had come to realize, are unforgiving and unmerciful to all, regardless of any person’s innocence. Because of a mere colors on clothing and shoes, many of my friends and family members, innocent of any crime or gang affiliation, were shot and killed. In the streets of Oakland, wearing red, blue, or black in the wrong neighborhood is enough incentive for a gang member to pull the trigger.

Even if one was careful when going out, security was never a guarantee. My mother, pregnant with my sister, Jacquelyn, was assaulted when walking in broad daylight to the clinic for her scheduled checkup. She attended her appointment on time, without her purse, and with an ear bleeding where the man had hit her. Not even a woman carrying a child is spared from the violence in my city.

Though I had a tough course load through high school and though soccer, my athletic passion, took up a large part of my time, I always took on the role of leading my friends and family through a better path to overcome the dangers of Oakland. I learned to drive, although my family had to spend more of the little money we had on gas, so that my mother could get safely to her destinations while my father was at work. In the case of my friends, I tried to lead them in the way my parents had led me; toward a mentality aimed for success. I wanted them to do well for themselves, but I also had selfish reasons for wanting them to do well in school; the academic road for success has always been extremely lonely for me without my friends, which has made it all the more difficult. Despite my constant complaining about the lifestyle that they lived and despite the continuous advice that I tried to give them, my friends were headed for failure. They did drugs, partied, and spent their time on the street. By the eleventh grade, most of the friends I had known since middle school were either pregnant, alcoholics, gang members, drug addicts, or a combination of these. While they had what they called “fun,” I spent my time tackling math problems, writing essays for my English class, and studying, knowing that I had to overcome the destructive environment of Oakland through my education in order to ensure a successful future. I tried to get many of my friends to realize that their hard work in school would pay off if they just tried, but even if they would not listen, I was determined to ensure my own future. I had the words “I will succeed” carved deeply into my mind. My eyes were firmly set for a future with a college education and economic stability, and I was determined to get there. However, as my senior year in high school progressed, I began to see an immense, new barrier preventing me from reaching my goal of a college education; I would not have anywhere near enough money to pay for my college tuition.

Starting in February, I began getting acceptance letters in the mail. I received letters from many colleges offering me admission into their class of 2014, but on March 25th, I received an online notification from the university that I had been waiting to hear from all along; I had been accepted into the University of California, Berkeley. Now that the wait for admission notifications was over, the ghost that had been haunting me at intervals throughout my whole senior year appeared, this time more solidly and scarier than ever. The frightening possibility that I would not be able to pay for college began to transform more and more into a mortifying reality.

As a non-legal resident of the United States, I do not qualify for any federal or state financial aid, despite my hard work and my family's low income. I tried to look for an alternative, searching for scholarships that would help me cover some tuition costs. However, most scholarships have “must be a citizen or legal resident of the United States” listed as a prerequisite to apply. I have, however, been awarded two scholarships which do not have such requirements. I have applied to and been awarded the Univision Exito Escolar Scholarship, an amount of $1,500 which is tremendously appreciated. I have also been awarded the East Bay College Fund Scholarship. This last one not only provides $4,000 for tuition, but also provides a mentor for me over my college years to ensure I graduate.

Throughout my high school years, I have taken many college courses, most of which will transfer to UC Berkeley and bring me to enough credits to finish college in three years instead of four. I will also be living at home. Considering the credits I have and the money I won’t spend on a dorm room, I will be saving a considerable amount of money. Tuition at Cal is currently $12,460, not counting books and other expenses (which Berkeley estimates will be another $1,314). With the $4,000 East Bay College fund will give me this year, with the $1,500 Univision will give me, and with the $5,000 my parents had in savings, I have a total of $10,500 for this school year. I am close to being able to afford my first year at UC Berkeley, but I still have a long way to go before I can cover my three years in college. I will continue to apply to scholarships and to try to find other ways to raise enough money to cover my tuition costs.

Although I have worked hard to surpass the expectations set by society for a Latino male in Oakland, and although I have acted in accordance to what is expected of a productive member of American society, I face a huge economic barrier, set as a result of my legal status, that prevents me from attending college. I hope to be able to find a way of overcoming that barrier, so that I can continue my pursuit for a higher education at UC Berkley and so that I can provide a successful future for my family and for myself.