Why do you do what you do?

[Alby Delgado]

When I was growing up, I didn’t have the tools to go to college nor did I know what college was. I grew up in a low-income neighborhood where college was usually not an option. As I got older I started to think of my future and how life would be like if I followed the same path as the people in my neighborhood. I started to wonder how lawyers and doctors got to be where they were, and then I realized that the reason they got to where they were was through a higher education. From that point on, I had to fend for myself and battle with the obstacles in my life until I got to where I am today. Sometimes I wondered how much easier life would be if someone was there to guide me, but there was not. Yes, I had my parents but they really didn’t know about college until I told them. They work forty hours or more hours a week in back breaking jobs and don’t have the time to help us with school mostly because they come home tired or because they do not have the knowledge to do so. That is why I have dedicated a large part of my time to mentoring others about college. I want to be a resource for all those underprivileged kids that either don’t know what college is or don’t know the process to get there. Especially since many of these kids often don’t have the support from their school or their community. And for me, education is one of the top things I value the most and throughout college and beyond I will keep helping other kids get to college. I do what I do because I want to be an example.