Ever since I was a young girl my mother has instilled in me the value of education. She immigrated from Colombia to New York City to provide my sister and I with the opportunity to have a good education. She used to tell me “La vida no es fácil y la gente intentará quitarte todo, pero lo que nunca podrán quitarte es tu inteligencia.” Life isn't easy and people are going to try and take everything away from you but the one they can never take away from you is your intelligence. And even though we didn't have much she would tell me that learning is everything. In my journey to become an English teacher, I have learned that knowledge and the ability to think for yourself is one of the most powerful things you can own. I grew up with school being a sanctuary, a garden of sorts where young minds could grow. I would stay after school and join all sorts of clubs and committees to improve my school experience. I'm doing the same here at Buffalo State. Along with all my work with EOP, including being a mentor and a summer assistant, I am currently a part of the committee for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We collaborate with other organizations at Buffalo State to make our school a garden where all students, regardless of identity, can grow and flourish the way that they deserve. Conformity dampers creativity. If we all think the same and have the same opinions, then new ideas and innovations to change the status quo would cease. As previously mentioned, the ability to think for yourself is one of the most powerful things that anyone can own. A lot of the time the power of words and knowledge is overlooked. But what has been forgotten by most is the power that words knowledge and opinions can give you. It's the one thing no one can take away from you. I am first generation American as well as the first in my
family to move away and go to college. That being said, the path that i am on has not been paved for me. I completed my college applications by myself and signed up for loans and attended open houses on my own. When I was in the fall semester of my freshman year my mother told me that she could not afford to pay tuition, my sister took money out of her retirement plan in border for me to finish out the fall. I applied to become a community assistant (CA) with residence life, and I was hired in the spring. Becoming a CA has allowed me to not only stay at buffalo state but attend free of cost. I was able to take away the burden from my mother and further my education. I live my life to make the people I love proud. I hope that my efforts will pave a path for the next generation of EOP students, for my younger sister, and for my future students. I want to end my statement with a portion of a poem I wrote titled “High Hanging Fruit.” And as I watch your back arch against The cold subway seat I can't help but run My tongue Along my teeth and feel The fruit of your labor stuck between my gaps No matter how much I pick at it There it remains Embedded It threatens my breath The sickly sweet remembrance of home And do my fruits not taste just as sweet? Though they are not those of blood, sweat and Tears They are ones of passion and purpose and though they are not as filling I am satisfied So I hope that the turn of my tassel Will make me tall enough to reach The fruits you craved The fruits of Life and Liberty.
