"se puso las pilas...."
Gates Millennium Scholar
My name is Hernan Chavez, and I immigrated to the U.S. from Michoacán, Mexico when I was thirteen years old. I’m a proud recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which is a full-ride scholarship to pursue what many told me was impossible. As a high school student, I used to dream about college; however, it seemed as a far-away dream that didn’t match the reality that I was living at that time. I started high school without knowing a single word of English, which placed me in lower-level classes during my freshman year of high school. However, I decided that I was not going to let my circumstances define who I wanted to become, and “me puse las pilas”. I would study long hours and spend nights without sleeping, while also working in the broccoli and cherry fields to assist my family economically. Despite all of these challenges, I graduated from Woodburn High School as a full International Baccalaureate student and as one of the valedictorians of my class. I successfully concluded a cycle by graduating from high school, an accomplishment that only three people in the history of my family had previously achieved.
The Gates Millennium Scholarship marked the beginning of a new cycle in my life and materialized what I saw as a far-away dream. Thanks to the GMS, I had the opportunity to go college. I’m currently a freshman at Willamette University, and I can happily say that I don’t have to struggle financially thanks to the GMS. This financial freedom has provided me with the chance to put a greater emphasis on my community and my academics. Although my career plans have changed a little bit since I started college, my goal to assist the Latino community has remained the same. I’m currently working to become a Spanish and Biochemistry double-major, so that I can assist our community with health related issues. Recently, I have personally experienced the difficulties that our Latino community has to go through when they need to access health services.
Not only did the GMS supported me financially, but they also showed me that they believe in me. That’s what truly matters to me; the fact that someone believes that I have the potential to become an agent of change in my community and, why not, in the world. The most powerful motivation we can find to accomplish our dreams is to realize that our dreams not only belong to us, but to all those around us whose dreams have been cut off by the unfair circumstances of life.
En Solidaridad,
Araceli
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