College Achievement

Good morning, graduates, family, and everyone here to support this important milestone of our lives.

My name is Angelica and I’m a graduating senior from CAMS.

Three years ago, I was here at Scholar’s Day– not as a student, but as a supportive sibling of my sister’s graduation. It was there, filled with the excitement of my future college prospects, that I hoped to be a role model for other students, just as I had found them in other student speakers. Now, given that opportunity, I promise I will do my best: This is my story.

Just like many of you, I am a proud first-generation, low-income student– but I grew up partying.

At 5 years old, I witnessed the birth of E-Z Party Rentals, the small business my family opened after struggling to find stable job opportunities for immigrants. The business would become my entire life; I would wake up in the early mornings to help them deliver tents, balloon arches, and other party supplies. My weekends were replaced with long nights and rewarded with $1 midnight tacos we ate on our truck bed.

We have depended on parties to survive, leading to my time outside of classes being dedicated to the business in any way possible, especially as my mother only spoke Spanish. Witnessing break-ins to our shop and delivery trucks, I have continuously watched our livelihoods– and everything my family has sacrificed– be put at risk.

But this was my normal, and the only career exposure I got. Outside of the business, similar jobs prevailed throughout the Hispanic community: all physically demanding, in the service industry, and with little room for social mobility. I internalized this reflection– and due to a lack of mentorship– determined it was the only path available to me.

With increased course rigor as I entered high school, I struggled to balance my responsibilities as a working daughter and first-generation student– often sacrificing studying and extracurriculars for my family’s financial stability. In rooms of qualified students who had been preparing their academic resumes for years, my hopes of higher education and professional careers dwindled.

I joined OJS as a shy and anxious freshman, but I would not be where I am today without the 4 years of programming that awaited me.

My first connection with OJS came with my counselor, Roza, who enabled me to establish my love for computer science. Coming from Title 1 schools without the resources for STEM courses, I was ill-prepared for the classes at my technical high school.

Roza guided me through destressing techniques and validated imposter syndrome I was terrified of recognizing, in the midst of watching classmates zoom through programming while I fell behind in the basics. Roza’s support turned my struggles into opportunities to delve deeper into coding logic, resulting in my love for algorithm solving in computer science.

OJS not only gave me the confidence to succeed in STEM, they also allowed me to empower other students to feel the same.

In my sophomore year, when I was asked to speak at a High School Road Map event for 8th graders, I expressed this newfound passion of computer science to fellow OJS students, but was met with mirrors of my previous self: students who did not have access to coding classes or were too intimidated by the subject to enroll in them.

My own STEM experience being a steep learning curve, I wanted to ensure students like me could explore the career path without the limitations of our background. I pitched the idea of hosting coding lessons, resulting in a two-day Python Workshop where I taught computer science essentials to OJS scholars. I replaced jargon with relatable metaphors in weather and hands-on lessons, using rubber ducks to explain program debugging.

Watching newfound engineers code their own trivia games, I was proud of the future possibilities that my community became capable of that day. I am eternally grateful for the confidence OJS had in me to teach others, allowing me to discover the importance of not only securing a better future for my family- but for all first-generation students.

When that illustrious awaited time finally came– college application season– I remember meeting with Anahi to discuss where I would be applying. First came the standard choices: CSU’s, UC’s, and in-state privates. Finally, I mentioned 3 out of states- all ivy leagues- and quickly laughed, “Just for fun!”

In retrospect, this was the furthest from a joke I could have made. A couple years back, OJS had given me an opportunity I would have never imagined as a low-income student: the opportunity to fly by plane for the first time to visit colleges in Washington D.C. It had been my lifelong dream to visit the Library of Congress housed there, home of the many primary sources I studied for hours throughout middle school. What was something I brushed aside as a pipe dream manifested itself as I walked through the east coast, away from my home for the very first time.

And I loved it. The excitement of navigating a new city, the adrenaline of running through a real winter season, and a new culture of people to explore on my own. Deep down, I knew a part of me wanted to go back, to continue to explore this new version of myself. It was because of OJS that I was applying to these 3 ivy leagues, to keep this dream going, even though I was scared by the possible results. And besides, what was there to lose by applying?

My entire life changed on Ivy Day. Once again, I joked “Let’s get rejected!” as my family and I clicked status updates. But in a matter of minutes, I had been accepted to all 3 ivy leagues I applied to.

Columbia, Yale, and my new home: Harvard. At Harvard, I will be continuing my study of computer science: focusing on ethics and investing technologies back into under-resourced communities.

But this win is not just mine. It belongs to the OJS counselors who helped me navigate my mental health, to the staff whose warmth made the program my safe space, to my mentor and cheerleader Lisa, who broadened my horizon of the world, and most importantly: to my family.

To quote them, “La mejor herencia que los padres les puedan dar a los hijos es la educación”. The best inheritance parents can give their children is an education. My parents have given me this and more. As I am sure many scholars can relate to, my parents left behind everything they knew in Mexico at the prospects of the American Dream, putting their own dreams aside to support mine. In a time when immigrant narratives are being misrepresented, I am extremely proud to say that against all odds, I will be completing this American Dream as the first person in my entire family to attend an ivy league.

I would like to take this moment to thank them directly. “A mi familia, sé que nuestra vida nunca ha sido fácil, pero espero que entiendan lo tan agradecida que soy por los sacrificios que han hecho por mi. Todo lo que hago en mis estudios es por ustedes y nuestro futuro. ¡Nos vamos a Harvard!”

To echo this, every scholar here is breaking cycles in higher education today. Countless sleepless nights, struggles balancing extracurriculars, questioning your abilities– but your blood, sweat, and tears have gotten you this far. To the class of 2025: you are everything our ancestors wished for and you should be extremely proud of yourselves. Congratulations scholars and thank you for allowing me to represent our stories.