California State University EOP

Briefly describe your family's economic background. Include information about your financial challenges. *
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I came from a family with education and wealth. Both of my parents have attained professional degrees in
the Philippines: My mother was a physician and my father was an overseas civil engineer. In the Philippines, my
parents have their own farm where they produce and sell rice, coconuts, cows, pigs, and goats. The salary that they
earn from the farm and resources goes to my cousins’ families. My father helps them out and their families because
of financial problems and an unstable relationship with their parents.My father who worked abroad and helped out
families in the Philippines had challenged himself to work really hard for everyone. With a family of four, we lived in a
city our whole life. The house that we stayed in was owned by my grandparents who moved to the United States. In
2015, my parents decided to move as a family to the United States because my brother has Autism Spectrum
Disorder and the resources he needs were not readily available in the Philippines. Having that opportunity, my
parents decided to restart their lives. I decided to take this opportunity to grow independence, improve
self-management, and develop a work ethic for my future success.
Unfortunately, the life that we were accustomed to was gone, especially to my parents who had lost their
professional careers. We are currently low-income because my parents do not have the opportunity to become
professionals unlike back home. Currently, my mother works in an adult disability home care as a caregiver and
studies medical coding at LATC after her job. My father is an assistant manager in Chevron gas station and a
caregiver in an adult disability home care. Unlike back in the Philippines, we live in a one-bedroom apartment where
we all have to sleep on the floor, deal with the insects, and suffer from a limited amount of space for studying and
working. Everything was sacrificed by my parents so that they could give me and my brother a better future.

Why would you like to attend college? Discuss your career and personal goals. Are there any particular
circumstances, school experiences, or persons that influenced your preparation or motivation to attend
college (e.g., cultural/financial background, family, teachers, schools you attended)? Please explain. * 0/2500
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I would like to attend college for multiple reasons: success in life for my brother and I, to help people who
are in need, and pay back what my parents have sacrificed for me. My parents sacrificed their former lives and
careers in the Philippines for my brother and I.. I want to help people, especially the people in my country in the
Philippines. I want to attain a professional career for my future success and so I could help and support my brother.
Here, my parents could not be what they have attained in college. Money and time have been sacrificed for
me and my brother to make our goals possible in the U.S. As for my father who was a civil engineer, who used to
work more than 12 hours a day as an overseas worker in different countries for 15 years, I want to follow in his
footsteps as a civil engineer, environmental engineer, or an architect. For sacrificing his time and hardwork, I would
like to achieve my goal by working with dedication and hardwork in the U.S. I would like to work here in the U.S. so
that I would be able to give back to my family.
In college, I would like to study and volunteer abroad and help rebuild people’s homes. I empathize with individuals
and their struggles and I want to give back, not just in the Philippines but wherever help is needed. The ability for me
to complete college can be used to set an example to low-income people and immigrant students.
One of the reasons why we came here to the United States is also because of my brother who has Autism
Spectrum Disorder. The assistance and opportunities being received my brother lacks in the Philippines, that was
why we moved to the United States, California. Here, people with disabilities have priorities. Unfortunately, once
people get these opportunities, some of their families abandon them to an adult facility care, for instance. That is one
of the things I do not want to happen to my brother, to leave him behind after I leave for college. In the future, I
wanted to be an entertainer, engineer, architect, social activist, or a book writer. My mother once told me that she
would be okay with anything I would want to be in the future in one condition: finish college with a degree.
Because of these 3 reasons, I wanted to be a role model to what an immigrant can do and achieve, I wanted
to prove to everyone that wherever you come from, you can still rise, achieve success, and make a change in
people’s lives.

Briefly discuss your academic background. Did you utilize any additional support at your high school, such
as tutoring? Do your grades in high school and/or college reflect your academic ability or potential? * 0/2500
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I moved to California as a high school freshman and discovered that Math and Foreign Language (Korean)
classes are my strengths and interests. Here, boundless opportunities are given to students. For instance, I have
taken the opportunity of the teachers’ open-door classroom before and after school to do any school-related work and
work on scholarship opportunities. Just by arriving at school one and a half hours early every day since 10th grade, I
have developed maturity, independence, organizational skills, time-management, productivity, and hard-work. I have
been motivated to dedicate my time and hardwork in Math classes. I have excelled by focusing on Math and assisting
peers who struggle. The outcome of this dedication in the morning paid off a lot of educational opportunities, such as
being awarded a scholarship and an all-expenses paid program to Korea. The Educational Preparation Programs I
have been involved in since 9th grade have also further helped anything I wanted to do in high school. The support
and opportunities that were given to me has changed my perspective towards education. Gear UP 4 LA is one of the
programs that changed how I perceive education. Gear UP has given me countless opportunities, such as visiting
colleges and learning about the process and lifestyle of college, being given SAT prep classes and assistance with
scholarship/program applications, and attending summer camps. Through them, I have become an ambitious and
positive student who is capable of going through tough obstacles as part of a low-income family. Project Bridge,
where I applied and was nominated due to an outstanding performance in Korea class, is another educational
program that expanded my perspective and knowledge towards diversity and culture. Project Bridge helped me step
out of my comfort zone and “bridge” the gap between cultures through cultural awareness and leadership training,
with Korea as its case study. Project Bridge brought me to South Korea and the DMZ along with 16 other students for
2 weeks where I was given the opportunity to interact with top Korean government and business officials, Korean
high school students, and the locals. My grades have been outstanding since freshman year until now and have been
a reflection of my academic ability. I have realized that I can use all these hard work and work ethic when I get to
college. My academic mindset had further challenged and advanced me in high school for college and future career.

List any volunteer work, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been involved
in the past two years. * 0/2500 characters

Child Care Providing-​ Assisted 16-year old brother who has autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder- High Functioning)
by taking him to places, monitored his safety daily activities, assisted him with all personal tasks, ensuring that he is
in a well-condition, acted as companion in his commute to and from school, guided and assisted in his interaction with
the public. ​ ​(9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15hrs+ weekly)

Los Angeles Peace Parade-​ Participated at the Los Angeles Peace Parade in Koreatown, Los Angeles for 3
consecutive years to commemorate the 25th, 26th, and 27th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles riots by performing
taekwondo. (9th, 10th, 11th, 9hrs total)

RFK Family Emergency Preparedness Fair-​ Performed and created a puppet show for elementary kids about
Family Emergency Preparedness; assisted visitors by guiding them to the event; assisted Octo-Fest staff by helping
them organize the event. (10th, 8hrs total)

Associated Student Body Government- ​(Treasurer)- Helped out fundraise and organize events for the school,
attended CADA leadership camp in University of California Santa Barbara where I was trained to develop personal
and interpersonal skills, raised over $1000 for Model UN Conference, raised $300 profit in a day by selling Krispy
Kreme donuts before and after school, assisted faculty staff with school events. (11th, 30hrs+)

National Honor Society-​ (Secretary) Organized the club and its members by creating an agenda before meetings,
contributed plans for school events, helped settle school events during school, in charge of attendance and
appointments for meetings. (10th, 11th, 12th, 50hrs+)

Mentor Club-​ Mentored peers before, during, & after school everyday; attended college workshops and field trips to
share my opinions regarding the school with peers; gain confidence and leadership skills through communications
and presentations; helped, encouraged, and advised peers with high school and college work. (9th,10th, 11th, 12th,
120hrs+)

Take Action Club-​ Practiced leadership and team building by putting events together for the community, organized
and managed material goods for victims of hurricane Harvey, helped organize the event and spoke out about the
dangers of smoking to people, attended Clear Creek Camp & Point Fermin Camp for leadership training. (10th,
150hrs+)

Is there any additional information you would like EOP to consider in determining your admission to the
program?* 0/2500 characters

The life I was accustomed to in California has been excruciating and exhausting most times. I have been
living in a one bedroom apartment with a family of four, where I have to sleep on the floor with my brother, deal with
insects every day and night, and accept the fact that our apartment is not the best place to work/study. I wake up
everyday tired, hungry, and with mixed feelings. I sometimes lose faith and hope. I sometimes get overwhelmed in
the bathroom because of the obligations I have to take care of my family. Since 10th grade, I had to wake up at 5 in
the morning to prepare myself and my brother, who has a High functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, to a family
friend’s house for his school bus to pick him up at 6. After that, I arrived at school an hour and a half early to do work
that requires internet access and research in my teacher’s classroom in the peaceful environment I didn't have at
home. After dismissal, I had to stay in my last period to complete some work or stay in my programs 2 hours at most
everyday. Then, I had to fetch my brother where he was dropped off. My brother and I had to commute together to
arrive at our next destination: public library, where I had to continue any school-related work. I would arrive home at
six and had to do everything for the apartment and my family. Although it has been difficult to have a special-needs
brother to take care of, I have managed to keep doing the same routine everyday without fail. Doing the same routine
everyday brings me satisfaction and strength because I know that I can keep up however difficult situations are. Due
to having to take care of my brother and help him every day on top of fulfilling my academic requirements, I have
become a diligent, persistent, and ambitious student who has been capable of always staying productive, organized,
and accomplished everyday. I have had school assignments done early and advance which helped my academic
performance a lot. I have learned to adapt and accept the condition of my brother. Although it was tough to get up in
the morning at 5 everyday since 10th grade, I was able to remind myself that hard work always pays off at any
moment in life and, like Margaret Peters said, “Time has a wonderful way of showing what really matters.”