For the first seventeen years of my life, I lived in the small island of Puerto Rico in a town called Toa Alta, about an hour away from San Juan, the capitol. Puerto Rico has been in an economic turmoil since the great recession, causing the unemployment rate to rise, medical professionals to leave, and the island’s quality of life to decline.

I was raised in a middle class family, with parents who worked tirelessly to feed a family of six. Although we underwent financial difficulties my family made huge sacrifices to pay for the best education they could afford. Their actions instilled in me that the key to success lies in education.

Education provides you with the knowledge and power to create change and impact your community. Given the reality of my country’s complex issues I decide to pursue a college education elsewhere- searching for new strategies and perspectives that I could use to reduce disparities not only in my island but also in other communities experiencing similar situations.

After graduating high school with a 4.00 GPA and earning the George Washington Carver full-tuition scholarship, I joined the Iowa State Class of 2019.

When classes started, reality kicked in. I felt overwhelmed and isolated in small- town Iowa. I lacked foundational knowledge in some of my classes and had to learn basic concepts most of my classmates were reviewing. At one point, I worked up to three jobs to cover my financial expenses.

Throughout my undergraduate career, I’ve had classmates doubt my capacities because I mispronounce words or have a slight accent. I’ve had people disregard my CORRECT answers because it took me a few minutes to understand and process a question that is NOT in my native language. I was thought of as unintelligent and incapable. In fact, I was told by some of my classmates that if I ever got into professional school it was because I was “lucky”.

Although my experiences in college were not quite what I envisioned, I did not give up on the wonderful opportunity I had to receive education. I was proactive and searched for spaces in which I felt welcomed and formed spaces in which I could grow.

I created a new support system by developing friendships and finding mentors that believed in my potential. Instead of detaching myself from my classmates, I became their teaching assistant and peer mentor and encouraged them to excel in their courses.

I took every opportunity to be involved in my community: I joined the honors program, a research laboratory, student government, became a Community Advisor and started a student organization for underprivileged pre-health students like me who have a passion for reducing health disparities.

As you can imagine, I worked hard. I lost count of all the late nights I spent at the library and in my bedroom desk. I lost count of all the times I cried because I was frustrated and exhausted but just need to get through one more “PowerPoint” or do one more problem before I went to sleep.

I lost count of all the weekends I spent learning biochemical pathways and trying to learn about magnetic fields. I lost count of every time I missed my family, my culture and my island.

This Fall 2019 I will be attending Harvard School of Dental Medicine. I can assure you, however, that it is not because I was “lucky”. It was because I worked tirelessly to make my dream come true. I made a lot of sacrifices and the opportunities that I’ve had have been earned, not given.

At Iowa State my goal has been to create spaces where students who have diverse backgrounds feel welcomed and have the resources they need to succeed. I would like to break the barriers that exist for students like me so that everyone has an equal opportunity to education and subsequently a better life. I believe that it all starts by supporting students and believing in their potential- even more so when they don’t believe in it themselves.

I also have a passion for reducing health disparities because I believe everyone should have equal access to healthcare services. This passion drove me to become involved with health and wellness on campus. It’s also the main reason behind why I chose to pursue dentistry.

Currently, I am the Director of Student Wellness for Student Government and the President of the Minority Association for Pre-Health Students (MAPS) on campus. These positions allow me to support students in different ways. As Director of Student Wellness, I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing people to develop programs that raise awareness of the resources that our institution has for our students to be healthy and perform at their best. As President of MAPS I’ve been able to share tips and resources with other students about how to apply to professional school.

The club has also been a great way to educate students on health disparities and other issues with healthcare. My goal within MAPS is to increase the number of diverse students in the health fields because it is proven that people with diverse backgrounds are more likely to provide services to marginalized communities.

When I delegate tasks, I asks students what they are passionate about. People are more willing to put in work and reach out for growth opportunities when they are doing something they are passionate about.

As a leader, I provide support and encourage the other team members to get involved with something they love or are interested in so that they can grow and learn skills that are useful to them in the future as they pursue their personal goals and passions.

What drives me to overcome obstacles is the possibility of improving the circumstances for others in the future. By breaking stereotypes and other obstacles, I hope to form spaces and develop resources so that my friends and family feel safer pursuing the things they love and feel that nothing is holding them back.

I hope that I’ve established resources on campus that allow marginalized communities to succeed and feel supported. I also hope that by reaching out to the communities that used to discriminate against me I have helped change their mindset.

Hopefully, I have made it clear that assumptions often lead to wrong conclusions and that it’s awful “to judge a book by its cover”

Inclusivity to me means equal access to opportunities. It means that Iowa State recognizes as an institution that marginalized communities have different experiences. Furthermore, it entails providing the students with the resources necessary to support them so that they have equal access to the vast opportunities that are offered here.

Inclusivity is also tied to representation. When I consider opportunities, I want to be able to meet leaders within my community that look like me or have unconventional or diverse backgrounds so that I can view myself in their shoes and believe that I can reach my dreams too.

If you can’t find somewhere that you feel comfortable- create the space yourself. You’d be surprised about how many people feel the same way you do!

I am more than lucky.