Future PlansFor someone who has lived in limbo since the age of 10, making plans and creating detailed timelines of what I would like my life to look like has been an escape from reality and a daily dose of hope.
I plan to stay in Revere and focus on the necessities of the community in order to analyze and comprehend the needs of our diverse population. We need to embrace that diversity instead of hatefully pushing it away. It is vital to research our social system in order to learn what will best help our city. I must admit that before I arrived at Pine Manor, I did not understood our social system, but I didn't approve of how things were being handled. Now that I’ve spent a year learning the ins and outs of the city and addressing the needs of residents who have allowed me that trust, I’ve realized that resources exist in order to get around barriers. For example, until I started translating for the office of the Revere Housing Authority, I would have never learned that anyone regardless of status can apply for state housing. This new knowledge allowed me to further expand my ability to help local residents who don't know any better and to show them they still have options when things aren't going so well. My goal is to show my community that Revere can become an inclusive city that listens and addresses the needs of its residents; especially now that we have a new Mayor and a new administration that wishes to undo the wrongs of the past and continue improving our city. In addition, I wish to continue with my education. I want to earn my master's degree in Chicano Studies and my doctorate on Social Psychology. I believe that my biggest priority is to become a better person, conscious of my identity, with the power that only education can bring. I want to become that person in order to conduct social and psychological research that in the future we can use to better the conditions of our society. With Prof. Vogele holding my award on Achievement Day
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