the tragical noise of sprinklers we rush
and grab the cardboard that was cabbage
from the local dumpster to block the
water from striking our mother she’s 11
it’s 6:00 a.m. we rushed the local gas
station and head straight to the
restroom to fully bade head to toe it
was routine for us it’s noon and we’re
at school it’s lunch time and I remember
to eat all that I can because we might
not have dinner that evening it’s 8 p.m.
we rolled a trash can out from its brick
house and we flopped the coolest eyes
mattress down on the roach infested
ground more or less these were the
typical routines of our everyday life
switching when we slept allocating our
meals anything to remain undiscoverable
and it didn’t really cross my mind that
our circumstances were unique compared
to my other classmates I never
questioned our situation it was was just
how we live majority of the time my
brothers and I we live with our parents
on the street and our parents did
struggle with substance abuse their
addiction was one of the main reasons
for our desperate circumstances the
homelessness was not new to us we didn’t
know any better
we slept in cars park vans motels so
many more places but I think our
elementary school teachers noticed first
because everyone wore uniforms my
brothers and I wore the same exact every
day the local communities thought our
struggle and took the initiative to help
in different ways also the thrift store
for example that was within feet of
where we slept provided us with blankets
to keep us warm at night our elementary
school provided us with backpacks with
enough food to last us over the weekend
and our middle school nurse would often
offer to wash our clothes so that when
Monday came
at least we would have new clothes clean
code at this stage receiving all this
attention in hell was uncomfortable eyes
and I just wanted to be invisible and
then came with Chris
Thursday morning December 8th of 2005
the five of us wake up in the car we
were pushed in my mother tells us she
has an early Christmas principle and you
see my brothers and I rarely God yes so
we were really excited
she told us she would pick us up early
from school that day and when she did we
were not released into her custody
she was deemed intoxicated and later
that night we were taken into foster I
felt my life would dramatically change
after this event and soon it did within
two months my brothers and I were called
into a meeting at our elementary school
our father was there he told us that he
loved us and he missed us but then he
told us that he tried and that he was
sorry and we didn’t understand what he
meant he told us that our mother had
passed away and I can tell you that I’ve
never felt as hopeless numb lonely or
scared before this within months school
officials contacted my brothers and I
and informed us that the local community
had raised the funds for her burial as a
child I felt the lack of her month of
parental guidance would leave all of our
futures uncharted I often wondered what
would I do
where would I end up how would my life
turn out at the young age of 12 I wasn’t
really taught to think about the future
only the next day my family worried
about where we would sleep what we would
eat for dinner that night and how do we
stay under the radar
it was honestly hard to dream of a
future when I was hungry and didn’t have
a home being in the foster care system
brings back many teachers and thoughts
about
what I did to deserve to be placed in a
situation like this I spent my time
worrying about my future worrying about
how I would be successful what did I
need to do to get out of these
circumstances but early on in my
education I was not in class to learn
but to eat my parents didn’t graduate
high so throughout my high school career
and on I always reminded myself this was
new to me and anyone in my family for
that matter
well with my mom as my motivation
running soon became my passion
it was my outlet and as the result of
something as simple as running something
that I felt held my life intact my
grades improve higher education was more
of a risk and a leap of faith and I knew
there were sacrifices associated with it
when I was a dad I was able to adapt the
different pressures different
environments and daily routines it’s a
skill that’s always been vital to my
success unpredictable unpredictability
was normal for me it was the reality I
was always faced with majorities of
people majorities of people my family
interacted with we’re caring and
generous
we were always shown sympathy and
compassion and I learned from this that
you cannot know what someone is going
through in their life many individuals
made a tremendous difference in my life
and this kind of sparked me wanting to
give that since I am the first of my
family to attend college I wanted to
help others most first-generation
college students can not go home and ask
for academic guidance knowing that I
would soon face these challenges
I received tutoring here at Cal Poly
Pomona for my first three academic years
and when I felt I was ready I
transitioned into being the booter I
wanted my students and not only succeed
but to thrive and know that someone
cared about their progression I
understood that there were factors other
than academia that the students face
but to be quite honest it was beautiful
to see the progression and professional
development and to see how something as
an jabal as an education can be worth on
more to an individual though now
logistical analytic job out of a
thousand foster youth 15 will graduate
all 15 out of 1,000
now consider this do out of those 15
will pursue a master’s or higher if you
were to ask me who was the key
individual who came into my life and set
me on the path whiskey fest I’d have to
tell you it was how it was individual
who made these positive influence and I
stand before you as a testament to their
many contributions advocacy’s and acts
of just pure kindness I believe that if
you can make a difference you should not
take the opportunity for granted the
positive effect has the potential to
lead the chain reaction success
throughout my childhood a lot has been
taken from me but in the end I realized
my education can growing up homeless
I’ve learned a lot I would definitely
would not be the person I am today if I
did not these challenges having my
mother passed away was a turning point
in my life I had to mature early in
order to survive I realized the scarcity
of my time but I want others to not let
their circumstances defined them all of
it in this room of the potential to be
go-getters determined enactment those
who are driven and realized their
potential
capturing my life experiences have
molded me and they fought me to be
prepared and to succeed and through
everything I have not lost hope many
individuals have asked me what now what
will you do next and I tell them that
after being rejected for many doctoral
programs I’ve had the privilege and
honor being accepted into one with hot
my past is not an anchor but a
placeholder of where I’ve come from and
a reminder to keep moving forward and
early on I knew I didn’t want to end up
in the same situation as my parents so I
never let obstacles or circumstances
become a barrier I leave you with these
three parties models first the anyone
who is struggling it is okay to ask for
help I’m thankful for the people people
want to help
dust ass to get where I am now I knew it
would require hard work and sacrifice I
didn’t want to be I believe that
anything of value and meaning is not
going to be easy and that is how it
supposed to be if you have a dream and a
mission for something he’s did but don’t
fear getting help second life’s
difficulties can make you bitter or
better how are you perceiving your
problems are you looking at them as an
opportunity for growth right now I’m
faced with the reality of a six-figure
loan dead in the eye but knowing is the
opportunity I’ve dreamt of for many
years I’m biting the bullet and not
giving a quote after all Princess Leia
reminds us the rebellion is built lastly
what could you be doing to help the
world
you have the resources to be a part of
someone’s journey go ahead and make a
difference helping a person won’t
necessarily change the world but it’ll
change the world for that person it did for me and I am forever great thank you