GTF Scholars Spotlight

Because of the pandemic, all my classes were online, and I lived at home. I am part of the Miner Ambassadors and we had monthly virtual meetings to collaborate with university activities, but the first activity we did in person was the May 2021 graduation ceremonies. That was the first time I got to go to campus!

College is so different. My high school was small and attentive. Now I am at a big university where I have to figure out more for myself. Everything is online; I was used to going to tutoring after classes. 

Of course, college is important to having a career in life, but I also want to expand my network, for my own growth and to develop life skills. And as the first generation in my family to attend college, I want to be an example to other students to inspire them to be successful in college and life. 

My advisor, Mr. Ramirez, has been really helpful and available whenever I need his help. I am a person who applies for everything! He helped me evaluate the pros and cons of things like internships and jobs and helped me with letters of recommendation. 

I’ve been accepted to the Disney College Program and I’ll be living in Orlando, Florida, through January 2022.  I’ll have a cross functional role as an outdoor vendor in the Animal Kingdom, and I’ll continue my studies online part-time. When I return to campus in January, that will be the first time I’ll be in an in-person classroom at UTEP. And I will be applying for internships during the summer.  

I would like to use my computer science degree to work in software engineering. I’d like to help people by working behind the scenes. I also plan to get a graduate degree.