Why I Want To Pursue A College Degree

My journey starts when I leave Puebla, Mexico eight years ago without knowing a single word in English to being a first generation college student in the United States. My family consists of my mother, two older sisters, my twin brother, and left behind my alcoholic, abusive father. I have been working in the hospitality industry ever since I arrived, from being a dishwasher to becoming front of the house supervisor. Initially without English knowledge or particular skills I had to settle into working in the lowest paid and grueling position in a restaurant, dishwasher. I was able to move up the ladder by taking night English as a Second Language class at City College of San Francisco and working up to ten hours a day every day. Every semester I took ESL classes, went hand in hand with promotions at work or better employment opportunities, to all the way to becoming supervisor of the restaurant. For this reason, I found in education an exit to poverty and a path to mind enrichment.. My proudest achievements are getting a GED, obtaining a high school diploma after completing the transitional studies program and now a 4.0 GPA in my first semester of credit classes, which I took to transfer to a four year university.
In both programs I saw the educational support and community that help me feel like I belong in college. Another step I took to transfer is to join the Puente club. The mission statement of the club is to advocate, encourage and support other students to pursue higher education. My reason for joining the club is to help ESL students, make them feel like they belong in college and encourage them that their educational journey can continue into higher