Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before diving in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us some of your cultural heritage and upbringing?

My family is Hispanic/Latinx and Spanish was the language spoken at home when I was growing up. My family is from El Salvador.

What is one memorable moment that you have with Dr. Beato? Why was it memorable for you?

One memorable moment that I have with Dr. Beato was in 9th grade. I went to his office during a class day and I told him that I wanted to attend college. Then he listed some of the scholarships I should apply for. He listed Questbridge, Coca Cola and the Posse Scholarship. After 4 years, I applied to all of the scholarships he recommended to me. From those three scholarships, he nominated me for Posse and I am now in college on a full tuition scholarship at a premier learning institution thanks to his nomination to the Posse scholarship. This is my favorite moment with him because he has helped to change my life by giving me advice and helping me understand that there is always a way to succeed in life.

What 3 words best describe you in this moment?

Three words that describe me are hardworking, outgoing and passionate. I have always described myself in that same way since I was in high school.

What do you envision yourself doing 10 years from now?

10 years from now I envision myself working as a diplomat or working in the government as a senator in my local community district.

What motivates you to do your very best?

Something that motivates me to do my best first is my sisters and second my community. My sisters motivate me to give my best because I want to be a role model for them and I want to give my older sister what she could not have. I want to give my little sister the courage to keep fighting for her dreams and showing her how to build the stamina to do so.

My community motivates me because I want to help provide the necessary access they need for a better future in this country. I come from a community of Latinx immigrants and I grew up seeing some of the injustices they had to deal with. During COVID-19 I saw how badly the Latinx community was affected with some of the highest death rates. To some degree, I feel like the local or federal government could have done more to stop that. In the future I am looking forward to helping to open programs for my community where they will be able to get more access to decent health care no matter what their background.

What is something that you believe has gone really well for you that you never thought you could do before?

I never thought I would be able to make it in college or that I had the right skills to make it. I can look at myself and feel extremely proud that this young Latinx man is thriving beyond his own imagination. I am double majoring and also engaged in speech and debate as well which is going really well and something that I did not think I could ever do as a former English learner. I recently competed and placed in the top three of my first debate, which is definitely a huge accomplishment in my books. For me it is about leaning into my fear and discomfort and embracing the complexities of life.