Coming from parents without opportunities gives you opportunities. My name is Keith Alvarez. I am 18 years old. My parents are both from Mexico. Like many others, they emigrated to the United states to give themselves and their future children a better life. It wasn't easy and it still Isn't easy. Growing up, my parents could never get the best jobs and have had to work diligently to maintain any job they were lucky to come across. I was primarily raised by a single mother. She's a workaholic, that's for sure. If there's something else she's proficient at, it's Math. Growing up, it was her endless effort to make sure we never had to worry about food, clothing, and shelter. Behind the scenes, I could imagine her worries were just as endless as her effort. Yet, she still had money aside to not only fill our bellies and put a roof over our heads, but also have nice clothes and nice technology. But now here comes a new challenge she's never had to experience before: Having the financial stability for College. Primary School was obviously free and at the back of her mind, financially, for my mother. As my understanding grew as time went on I knew I had to go through k-12 with flying colors. I did just that and ended up graduating with a 3.89 GPA, Honors. We celebrated hard with family and friends. But we couldn't ignore the elephant in the room that was the FAFSA. I completed the FAFSA in February and it was no walk in the park. We had to carefully answer the questions as FAFSA didn't really favor immigrant families or immigrants themselves. It was a strategy game where we had limited information on how the FAFSA really works. We had little to work with. But with costs of college steadily on the rise, the stresses of my mom having to worry about paying for her son's college as an immigrant hit harder than we thought. The thought of dorm, attendance, etc. expenses looming over our heads. Our FAFSA results returned. Surprisingly, I earned the maximum amount from the Federal Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, and the GA HOPE Scholarship! We were blessed to have received substantial financial aid despite our situation! I anxiously awaited the information to be sent to Valdosta State University's Office of Financial Aid. After everything FAFSA related was subtracted from my cost from the year, The net cost that we still had to pay for 2024-2025 was still heart dropping: $12,000. Once again we were stuck. But we had a helping hand that made us realize the benefit of my situation: Immigrants, first or second generation have a lot of help that I hope to utilize for financial aid. The College Assistance Migrant Program at VSU was a breakthrough for us. Unfortunately, my lack of preparation and research did not allow me to reap the full benefits of the program. Nonetheless, The CAMP recruiter opened the door to information I never even thought possible. She was kind enough to point me to different scholarships to those from immigrant families/backgrounds and offered essential money-saving advice. Thanks to her and my mom, I'm writing this scholarship application out! In summary, being born in an immigrant background certainly had its disadvantages but also had its hidden advantages. I ran into these opportunities later than I would have liked. However, for kids like me, It Is always better late than never to get the help we need. Thank you for reading my story and considering me for this significant opportunity.