To me being Black means to be bold, strong, and resilient. As an African American we have to face and deal with struggles that no other race has too in our lifetime. Being Black is to be one of a kind because no other race has hair and skin that is so unique that is adapts to our environment. I chose to go to an HBCU because I wanted to be educated around those that think and look like me. I also feel like there’s nothing better than to be taught about your people by your people. There’s so much rich culture and so much to learn at HBCUs which is why it was so important to me to attend one since I grew up in a predominantly white community and was taught things from a different perspective. After receiving my degree, I hope to obtain my RHIA certification so I am able to work as a privacy officer in a hospital and then eventually work my way up to become a HIM director and run my own department. I want to improve and help advance health information systems as well as help develop programs to assist with medical records and data collection.

Going to college is important to me because no one else in my family had the chance too. A vast majority of individuals in my family unfortunately don’t even graduate high school and usually turn to drugs and have issues with the law. My mother and grandmother were both Cuban immigrants and were not given the opportunities to go to college. Growing up, my mother and I faced many hardships in the California projects, but she always made sure that I put school first and got good grades. I was never allowed to bring home a grade any lower than a “B”. My mother taught me how important it was to do good in school because one day it would open up many opportunities for me. Many people in my neighborhood usually did not graduate high school and instead turned to violence and gangs. I knew that I didn’t want the same fate for myself and my family. I made sure that I never fell under any negative influences in the environment around me and made it my goal to graduate with honors and become the first one in my family to attend college and graduate. That spring, I graduated top 100 of my class with a 4.0 GPA. When deciding on what college to attend, I knew that I wanted to go to an HBCU to study with people who looked like me and had similar goals as me. I was blessed enough to be accepted into FAMU and moved to Florida a few months after graduating high school, leaving my whole family across the other side of the country in order to pursue my education. I was terrified none the less however, I knew that this decision would open up many opportunities for me to grow as an individual and change my life for the better. From my college experience, I hope to grow as a person and make meaningful connections with those around me. I would like to learn about Black culture and the African American experience in America. I plan on joining various organizations to help improve and grow the community around me while also making sure that I maintain good grades. My goal is to show girls like me and even people like me that it does not matter what kind of environment or background you come from, that you can accomplish your goals and do anything that you set your mind to if you truly want it that bad. I want to show my mother and my grandmother that all of their hard work and sacrifices didn’t go to waste and that I make them proud. To me college is just more than friends and clubs, it’s a way for me to change my life for the better.