Shattered by my dad’s death, I promised in his honor to care for my family and continue my academic journey. Consequently, he lost his battle with drug addiction at the young age of 46. Due to a traumatic childhood, he began to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. My mother taught herself to read and write in Spanish, but my father never learned to read or write. At the time, it was required for them to pay to continue their education after grammar school, but they could not afford to do so. “My parents were robbed of an education since they were born in poverty in Mexico. This degree goes to my father who I miss so dearly." Working as nurse and being able to help patients first hand has been rewarding and I cannot wait to be able to do more. My son is the root to my success and with my bachelors degree in health science I will be able to continue my education to pursue my masters as a physician assistant or perhaps a masters for direct entry level for nursing whichever graduate program takes me first. Being a mother, working full time, a student and volunteering my free time in the ER was challenging but I couldn’t have done this without the help of my family, support from my friends and my son’s school. I had lost my father a few years ago during that time and I was still trying to balance my life without him and many other things. As a child I always knew I wanted to work in the medical field but my first year in college I got terrified and got lost with all the struggles life threw at me. "Three years ago I decided it was time to get my life together for the sake of myself and beautiful son. I will always come back to the Valley and help those in need."
My greatest inspiration however are all the people in my community who are struggling to maintain a livelihood. My older siblings are the first people in my life to introduce me to a college education and will always be an inspiration for my younger siblings and I. Without their love and encouragement, my dream of going to a University would not have come true. A degree from UCSD would allow me to find more ways to mobilize and challenge the institutionalized oppression that keeps people like myself in the valley. I am majoring in Political Science so I can come back to the city of Pacoima and become involved in the local government. Not to mention that I was raised in a low income community where students are not encouraged to dream outside the mountains that enclose the San Fernando Valley. As a first generation Hispanic daughter of two immigrants, I never thought that I would be able to leave my home to pursue higher education.
"When I think about the fact that I am a college student, I get emotional. Melissa has decided to pursue higher education and plans to attend University of California, San Diego this coming fall. Excelling in academics, she was class Valedictorian, graduating with a cumalitive GPA of 4.3. Melissa Serrano is a Sylmar High School graduate from Sylmar, California. To conclude our 2019 series, we are thrilled to spotlight one high school graduate & future VAGA With a Degree!
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