One of the biggest obstacles I had to go through in my pursuit of higher education was being black and going to CCTEC, where there were not many people like me around. Freshman year, I had a very rough start, I wasn't a very particularly social kid, and I came to find there were very few people who related to me. Being one of the few black students means I have to endure a lot of casual racism in the school, with me just laughing and going along with it. Along with this, all of my friends had gone to a different school, so most of the time I sat alone or with 1 to 2 friends. Sophomore year is when things started to change. With the introduction of sophomore year, there was a club that caught my eye, which was the Black Student Union Club. BSU aims to bring people like me together, and allows us to talk about our experiences not only in life, but as being black in CCTEC as well. For once, I didn't have to idly stand by and laugh along at the racist jokes; through this club, I learned that I too have a voice, and I should be proud of it. I made so many friends through this club, and now in my senior year I want to help other minority students get that same feeling I had. BSU can be a place to talk about your frustrations, and find ways to combat the challenges of being a minority student. I will no longer let obstacles like these prevent me from doing what I want to do, which is to go into medicine. I want to give back to my community, and be able to say I made a difference in their lives. Thanks to BSU, I learned that I always had the power to do that, I just needed a voice.