Pullias Center for Higher Education
I AM (Increasing Access via Mentoring) Program
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
Personal Statements Essays, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UC PROMPT #1____________________________________________________3
UC PROMPT #2___________________________________________________ 10
USC PROMPT ____________________________________________________ 16
THE COMMON APPLICATION ESSAY______________________________17
University of California Application
Personal Statement Prompt #1:
Describe the world you come from – for example, your family, community or school – and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Student A, Female
Woodrow Wilson High School
UC Prompt #l
Another hit to bear from my brother. I was sitting at my desk, when he stormed into my room and demanded I give him the laptop. I refused and he punched me in the face. My brother dropped out of high school and for two years he lay around, drinking, without any job, prospects, social life, or potential future. The way he lived his life made him short tempered, so whenever he got upset he would take his anger out on me. Fortunately, I had school and my aunt’s house where I could escape from my brother.
When classes were out for the day, my cousin and I walked to her home. At home, I had to endure physical violence. There were days I did not want to go home because I was afraid of my brother; wondering if he would become violent again. I decided to keep myself busy and join programs, clubs, and basketball; that way I would have an excuse to not go home early. It was very exasperating for me because I could never get my homework done correctly and on time. Once I arrived home I would be greeted by yells and arguments because my brother always managed to get into trouble. I was forced to have all-nighters to catch up with homework I could not get done at my aunt’s house because she lived in a single bedroom apartment with my three cousins and her three granddaughters. I could never find a quiet place, there was always chaos. I would go to my aunt’s house and hear their problems and when I would go to my house it was the same. However, I rather be at my aunt’s house because at least there the problems did not affect me in the same way they affected me at home.
Because of these experiences, I make education a priority. Those days I spent at my aunt’s house helped me realize that even when I struggled to get my homework done I needed to remain resilient to reach my aspirations of going to college. My brother dropped out of high school because he failed to see that education offers many opportunities. Unlike my brother, I know the importance of education because I saw him as an example of what I didn’t want to be. I saw my parents as hard working people, working to provide my brother and me with a better future, and I knew I did not want their hard work to be in vain. As a first generation, I know that college seems far from reach, but I am determined to be the first in my family to attend a four year college.
I aspire to be a psychologist because I have always been fascinated as to how the brain works. I always questioned if people were born smart or if they become smart throughout the years? In my specific situation, I wondered how and why drugs and alcohol affects my brother’s temperament. My family’s experiences, good or bad, inspire me to strive for a higher education and major in psychology.
Student B, Female
John Marshall High School
UC Prompt #l
The room is hot and stuffy and paint is chipping off the walls. The smell of my grandma’s cooking wafts into the living room where all fifteen of us are gathered. I can hear the sounds of my little cousins playing and screaming in my grandma’s bedroom. The hum of Spanish and English garbled together in the living room. My world is my family and although they don’t understand it I feel like it is time for me to venture out.
The room may be stuffy but it is not suffocating. I enjoy my family, especially playing games and acting silly with my younger cousins and brother. I don’t think that going away to college means leaving my family behind; to me it means coming back home with a whole new array of stories to tell. My family has always provided me with a nurturing environment that built a sense of security in my life. Although I love my family dearly I want to explore other cultures and meet different people that exist outside of my family circle. I want to fully experience what college is about and am now determined to forge my own path despite the disapproval of my dad.
Twenty years ago, my dad immigrated here because there was a war in his country. I know that my dad had courage because he essentially came here empty handed only knowing the address of where he was supposed to go. My dad sacrificed never seeing his family again for a better life for himself and his family back home. As a result he always emphasized the importance of family unity to me which also fostered his resistance to my wish of leaving home for college. That same courage has been transcribed unto me and it is what drives me towards fulfilling my ambitions.
Even though it makes me upset that he doesn‘t understand my motives, I understand my dad’s position. However, his unwillingness to let me go sometimes makes me hesitate and wonder, “Since my dad doesn’t approve does that mean that what I want is wrong?” My dad’s opinions have always shaped my world and for the first time it is I who is going to make the decision in the same hope for a better future that my dad had when he first arrived in this country. I will be a first generation college student and for this reason I am determined to pave the way for my little brother so that when it is his turn to leave the nest my parents will already have the experience and will be able to understand his ambitions better. Even though I am scared of the journey ahead of me I feel ready to pursue what I want in life. I need to leave the comfort blanket of my family to become the person who I want to be.
Student C, Male
Roybal High School
UC Prompt #l
Throughout my education, I have been aware of stereotypes. People think that most Hispanics don't get an education and end up in gangs. In my family, I am the one who is currently breaking this stereotype.
It all started in elementary school. I was getting good grades, but a few students didn't find that impressive, so they would call me names to put me down, but I didn't let them affect me. In middle school, it was much worse as it started to become physical. I experienced demeaning name calling, hitting, pushing, and more. I felt like I was different than everyone else, like I was an unwanted alien. Teachers did nothing to help me, so I went to see my counselor. I explained everything that was going on, and she was able to punish those students. With her support and my family's support, I was able to boost up my self-esteem and graduate middle school with 5 A's and 1 B. This is one of my obstacles I had overcome in my life. I currently participate in a program called “Goals for Life” since June 2012, an internship in the Bresee Foundation and what I do there is tutor and mentor middle school and high school students, this involved a comprehensive 6-week training period. This training helped me because it helped me learn how to talk to students and how to relate to them. Now that I’m about to talk and relate to students, I am able to better develop relationships with them, so that the students can have a role model who will help them with problems in their lives, such as the problems that I’ve gone through in middle school. This is why my involvement in “Goals for Life” is very important: To give back to the students so that they won’t end up like how I did in middle school, and being involved in it has helped me shaped my goals and aspirations.
My goal is to graduate from high school and receive a higher education than my parents, and become the first generation college student. I will attend a 4-year university that offers an excellent computer engineering or computer science program. My goal is to become a computer engineer after graduating from a prestigious university. I would like to stay in my home state as my first option so I can be close to my family. It’s important because I would like to keep the close relationship with my parents and sister. My future is bright, and not only will I make my family and my Hispanic community proud; I am making myself proud as well.
Student D, Female
Belmont High School
UC Prompt #l
My father encourages me constantly, “You have it hard, I know. Don’t forget your whole family is here to support you. Your sisters are your resources and you must follow their footsteps. You will succeed just as much as they will; you just need to work a bit harder.” I am the youngest of three sisters. My father supports our family of five with an unstable factory job, which is the only job he can find because he is undocumented. My mother, also undocumented, is a non-English-speaking homemaker who has devoted herself to my sisters and me. My two sisters were born in the United States, but my parents and I were born in Hidalgo, Mexico. Thus, my parents understand why I must work harder than my sisters to succeed. However, we all keep in mind that our family is the source of our strength.
My father has always reminded me to be humble, to be myself, but most importantly to never forget where I came from. I was born in Hidalgo, Mexico and came to the U.S when I was only three years old. It is ironic that being the youngest sister, I am the only sister who is undocumented. Not being a U.S resident is a continuing life challenge—it has excluded me from jobs and academic programs, and I live with the fear that it will alter the course of my life, despite my determination to accomplish my great aspirations and dreams in the country that I have grown up to love.
Having grown up in the inner city of Los Angeles, I was surrounded by undocumented Latinos. As I grew older, I became aware of the high cost of being undocumented. Teenagers, who saw no future in college given their legal status, turned to the streets for a life of crime. Choosing early on not to succumb to peer pressure and the crime in my gang-infested neighborhood, I walked a different path. I worked hard at school, participated in sports, joined clubs, and sought out mentors who could help me get into college. I choose to believe in an America where I will be accepted.
I seek the college that best suits me so that I can major in math and/or accounting. I have always enjoyed the precise way that numbers resolve a problem. I view accounting as the mastery of money and a type of empowerment. Since money has been limited in our family to pay for the bare necessities, I would enjoy investing and organizing money.
After my education, I hope to return to the Latino community that I have grown up in to share my knowledge and invest in my neighborhood. I would like to enrich my community and share a sense of empowerment with other Latinos, especially those who are undocumented like me. I hope that my example will motivate others to believe that hard work and education can be rewarding. I also want to sensitize the entertainment world to the Latino culture and fracture Latin stereotypes, so working behind the scenes in television might be another career path where I could achieve my goals of helping my community.
Being part of my school’s Track and Field team has taught me the value of endurance to meet challenges, coupled with speed at the end to win. I apply these lessons to my life, and the multiple challenges to come. I have faith the Dream Act will ultimately pass, especially now that President Obama has been elected for a second term. In my personal dreams, I see a race of long duration requiring great strength and endurance, with my family cheering me all the way, but the last part is a sprint. I have spent fifteen years, patiently working hard, being humble, accepting gratefully what this great country has shared with me as an undocumented person. But I hope that I can overcome the “burden” I have borne, this ironic “absence” of papers. I foresee that I will graduate from college, stand tall along with my classmates, and become a CPA and/or an executive in the television industry who showcases Latinos and makes the world more welcoming to all Latinos.
Student E, Female
Fremont High School
UC Prompt #l
Dad, Dad, wake up! Those were the words that haunted me from that frightening night. My friend and I were ready to go off to sleep as I heard a strange noise coming from the sidewalk. I jumped out of the bed and I took a peek out of my window as I saw a mysterious man stealing my mother’s car. I quickly ran out to inform my father about the scene and we were all in a panic. We did not know whether we should go outside and face this thief or call the police. All that ran through my head was the thief having a weapon and my family’s safety.
Scary events like this happen so often in my neighborhood that I’ve gotten used to it. I was born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, where the area is negatively influenced by gangs, drugs, and crimes. Having lived there all my life, I’ve witnessed firsthand how people continuously struggle to live a decent life. I see homeless people by the freeway with only a blanket to sleep on desperately begging for change so they can eat. I watch my family members work hard even though they have minimum wage jobs which can barely provide for their family. As I walk down familiar streets each day, I see walls tagged with graffiti from local neighborhood crews who have no future. Many young people in my community end up choosing the wrong path by dropping out of school, getting pregnant, or living off of the government. I am hungry for more than this, I want to be the individual that will set the example that nothing is impossible to achieve.