I am where I am today because of my mother’s fight—not just for herself, but for her children. She made it her priority to give me and my siblings a better future than the one she had. My mother grew up in poverty in Guatemala, immigrating to the United States for a better future—a future that came with its own hardships.
These hardships led to an unstable home environment. However, following my parents’ divorce when I was in 5th grade, I switched from a public elementary to a private Catholic middle school. In this new environment, I was able to flourish with access to educators who cared for me and had my best interests at heart. Yet, even this change didn’t fully meet my academic needs—I vividly remember being handed a 6th-grade math packet in 8th grade, unable to ask for more challenging work.
I begged my mom to let me attend a private Catholic high school that was 40 minutes away. If it weren’t for my mother willingly agreeing to change my school environment, I wouldn’t have been able to join the policy debate team, serve as the editor of the yearbook, be president of a club, and attend college as a first-generation university student.
The ability to choose where I got my education opened up a multitude of opportunities.
My mom continues to fight for these opportunities, not just for herself but for my siblings and their future. However, this fight has had its challenges. As a low-income family with my mom as the sole provider, the financial burden of attending these schools was significant. It was often difficult to have enough money for our basic needs. Fortunately, we were able to secure these opportunities through scholarship grants from a Catholic Tuition Organization and, most recently, Iowa’s Education Savings Account program.
These grants enabled me and my siblings to attend private schools, helping me flourish and bringing me to where I am today.
