H.O.P.E Gen Student In Need of Your Help

After 6 years of hard work and life challenges, I finally realize I can't do this alone, I need hope. Hello, my name is Lucero I am a student at UTSA I was Born in Mexicali, Mexico immigrated to the US at the age of 3, I grew up in a low-income immigrant community in Southern California. I'm the second woman in my family to pursue higher education in STEM. I have experienced and witnessed the obstacles first-gen students, stem students, and POC students experience in higher education. Therefore I am the founder of H.O.P.E Gen an upcoming support service program dedicated to the support of first-generation, POC, STEM students. I will provide guidance, community resources, and educational tools to increase engagement and retention by implementing activities that help develop students' skills to balance studies and life challenges.

 

However, I too am H.O.P.E Gen experiencing the challenge of low income which has hindered my ability to complete my degree on time. As a consequence, this struggle has affected my mental health, which in turn has become a never-ending cycle of worrying about income but also my well-being.

In my last semester at UTSA, I ask for you to give me hope. Receiving any help offered would allow me to 1) complete my degree on time, 2) devote my full attention to H.OP.E. Gen to set its foundation in higher education institutions, and 3) overall allow myself to be free from the stress of constantly worrying about my financial well-being.