Graduation speech by Rozaura Cendejas

Good afternoon, my name is Rozaura Cendejas and I am really happy being here.  It is an honor to stand in front of you and share  my experience as a student and what my journey was to get here.  

Five years ago, I came to the US with nothing but a bunch of dreams which seemed to be unreachable and overshadowed by one little detail, the difference of language.  So I realized that the only thing that was going to give me the wings to fly and reach my dreams was education. On my way, I found many obstacles and negative comments like “Don’t waste your time going to school”, “Find a job and get money”, “Education wasn’t made for an immigrant” and the most painful comment was “You don’t love your children, since you’re leaving them just for school.”  Those comments hurt, yes, but they never took away my desire to succeed.  Success is based on education and requires a lot of effort.  Is not easy, nor is it impossible.

I want to thank this wonderful school that gives us the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.  Of course that wouldn't be possible without our incredible teachers.  Thank you so much! I really admire your patience and how great you all are.  I thank you because you never left me alone.  I knew you were going to be there at any time and always willing to help me.  I also want to thank the TAPP program for taking care of my kids while I was studying.  I am here thanks to their support.

Dear fellows, my advice for you is that you have to take education as a gift, not as a punishment.  That’s what education is, a gift which we can open and take whatever we want out of it.  It gives us the opportunity to choose our future.  I understand that sometimes we feel discouraged, but think about what you really want and what’s the best for you.  Seek help, talk to your teachers and give yourselves the opportunity to learn and improve your lives.  Based on my own experience, nobody forced me to come to school, nobody told me “Wake up,  go to school, do your homework.”  Studying was the gift that I chose.  Which gift are you going to choose?  I know that you all are going to succeed because you are already here and after one, two years or more, you are not going to be sitting down there, but standing here, ready to say “mission accomplished.” Although this is just the first step towards our dream, college is waiting for us with its arms open.  “Don’t just follow your dreams, chase them and if you ever fall down, stand up and be proud of what you have learned from that fall.”

Thank you.

Scholarship Essay by Anonymous

Falling is very painful but just as hurricanes, the return is always stronger.  Is not the strongest who first reaches the goal without obstacles but one that solves the overhead obstacles and find solutions to achieve it’s goal.

My life as been full of hardships since I was in my home country.  I believe that my nightmare started the day that I lose my father.  I was just 7 years old but I clearly remember that day when he died.  My father was the support for my family but also he was our protection.  I felt that apart from losing my dad, we also lost the nuclear family that we used to be, and very importantly  we lost respect for some people to my family.  My mother was the one who most suffered from that situation.  I felt really bad too but also I felt that I had to be strong so my mom could feel more confident.

I was succeeding in school. I was the best student in the municipality.  I received many diplomas when I was in school.  I have a very special one.  The president of my country, Vicente Fox, sent me a diploma in recognition of my efforts and for being a good student.  I was full of joy and proud of myself.  My family was proud too because they thought I really merited it.  In the midst my joy, I was facing problems because the people in my community think that women should be at home instead of studying.  I didn't care about those persons because all I wanted was to be a successful woman.

When I was 16 years old, a tragedy changed my life completely.  A man forced me to go with him.  He threatened me with a gun and told me to get in his car, he took me to his house and he raped me.  His family had power in the community so I was afraid to leave his house.  I stayed with his family for about 6 months.  His family treated me as their slave.  I did everything for them.  One day I decided to leave the house but my life had taken a terrible turn.  My mom and I were worried about my safety and the only solution I found was to immigrate.

When I got here, I signed up for school again, but also I had to work.  That was arduous but I completed eleventh grade.  Then I quit school because I was pregnant.  When my baby was one and a half I got pregnant with my second baby.  I became really depressed because I thought my dreams were over.  I found Wellstone and it opened the door for me.  It’s been challenging to divide my time and energy between work, school and my children but I am tenacious and this year I will finally graduate.

Once I finish high school, I will go to Minnesota Community and Technical College for two years.  Then I will go to the University of Minnesota to earn a 4 year degree in Psychology.  My favorite subjects are Social Studies and Health.

My dream is to became a Psychologist.  I would like to work with women and children.  The experiences of my life have nurtured a feeling in my heart for helping people.  I think that if I can get ahead and succeed, then everyone can.  I want to support people because I know very well how it feels to live in the midst of solitude without having someone by your side, anyone who will listen or a shoulder to cry on.

My life now is very heavy and stressful.  Its like a labyrinth but I know the way out and the way up is through education. With study and hard work, I will find my way to a new life that will be better for me and my children. With your help I can find a way out of the labyrinth.

Autobiographical Scholarship essay by Egigayehu Ashagre

           I am Egigayehu.  I was born in Wanji, Ethiopia. I grew up in a small town. When I was growing up my mom left me with my grandmother and went to live in another country.  It was a difficult time to learn because nobody helped me.  I started school when I was 10 years old.  I started school late because my grandmother had no education. How could she support me? When I was nine years old, my mom, my brother, and sister went to Nairobe, Kenya to go to the United States of America because my older sister got engaged and was already in America. 

           

            When my mom went to Kenya, I was carefree because I thought she would come back after a month, but she never came back. When I thought of her, I cried a lot, got a headache, and slept.  When I saw other children with their mother’s I felt deep sadness and cried because my mom was not with me. I felt lonely.  I liked to sit in a quiet place by myself and think about the day I would see my mom again.  When I was a little girl, I lost my mom and dad’s love.  My dad lived without me because he married another woman. My mom left me to make a better life. When I went to school, I was not learning, I was thinking of my mom. After a long time, my mom called my grandmother and me.  When I heard her voice on the phone I could not control my tears, I could not say anything, and I was happy to hear her voice.  My mom told me that she would come back someday. I had a dream to see my mom and to live with her.  I also loved my grandmother  because she took care of me and she gave me what I wanted. She represented my mom.  

            After ten years, my mom came to see me and my grandmother. Then she started the process to take me to America, and after one year, I got my visa to come here. I felt two things; happiness and sadness.  I was happy because my dream to live with my mom came true.  I felt sadness because I had to leave my grandmother. When I said goodbye, my grandmother was crying and she told me, “Concentrate on your education and come to see me before I am dead. Don’t stay a long time because I am too old of a woman.” I said, “Don’t say that. You will live a long time and I promise you I will focus on my education.” After that I hugged her and said goodbye. I believe that knowledge is necessary to achieve your goals.  I came here in May 2010.  I have been here one year and six months. Now I am running to catch my dream and fulfill my promise to my grandmother.  

    

            My first post-secondary goal will be to go to college and get a degree so that I can achieve my dreams. After I get my high school diploma I will go to St. Cloud State University.  First, I will earn a 2 year degree, then I will take a break to work in order to make money to complete my 4 year degree.

        

             My personal aspiration is to go to college to become a radiologist. After I get my degree, I hope, to work in a hospital.  I am interested in this job because I really want to help those who do not have anything, like the homeless, orphans, and senior citizens. Being healthy is very important.  When people need medical help I want to be able to help them.  Helping people brings me happiness. No matter where I am going, I will always remember where I have been.  When I get my job, I will help others and immigrants.

    

           I serve my community and school as a student council member and a member and teacher in the women’s bike club.  I learned how to ride a bike after I became involved with the team. Now, I teach others how to ride a bicycle. I gained work experience in Ethiopia.  Every weekend I worked to help my cousin at her restaurant.  I washed dishes and worked as a hostess, greeting customers coming in.

     

             My mother and I live together. My mom does not have a job because she is old and she has a disability.  The government helps her live. That is why I ask you to help me.  My mom can not afford to pay for my college.  When I go to college, I will live on campus, because I want to focus only on my education.  Living on campus will be more expensive, but it will be beneficial because I will be able to focus.  If I get this scholarship, I will be able to accomplish my goals, achieve my dreams, and help people in my community.

The Cost of Immigration by Jacqueline Bau and Jessica Bau

Jessica and Jacky have a project about cost of immigration. We have to choose a group from the population, and talk about their life and economic choices. We chose our own case of the cost of immigration because Jessica and me are immigrants to this country and this state.

Jessica and I are from Ecuador. We left our country because we were looking for a better life. Also we wanted to see our parents after ten years. We would like to talk a little bit about our life. Jessica and I are cousins.  We lived with our aunt. Then we decided to come to the US because that life for us in Ecuador was difficult. Our lives became hard when our aunt left and we and our brothers stayed to live alone. We never knew at that time about the economics in the world because always my aunt provided everything for us. And she was the good person because she knew how to manage the money our parents sent for us. Soon after we stayed to live alone we and our parents decided for us to travel to this country.

Our trip was so long and very sad because we suffered a lot when we left all our things in Ecuador. We were regretted leaving our family, friends, our own land, fun and culture. The scarcity in our country was hard because the labor, the capital and the education were a problem for our parents and us. That’s why my parents came for a better future for us, and we came for our studies and with many goals. Especially for Jessica because she has a baby. She has to see for both her and her baby so the problem is more bigger than just me.  It is big problem because the scarcity now is the education and capital for her and her baby.

The resources in this case, are hard work and being responsible with our needs. We were looking for capital and labor opportunity when we traveled to another country. While we are going to school, and in the evenings we are going to work, because we have to help our parents. This situation is difficult for immigrants. The choice for us was come to the US and fight for a better life. We had to think about all those goals when we decided to come to this country. We know that we can accomplish this with effort and dedication.

In class we have already learned about the scarcity that is a problem in which everybody wants things, but there is not enough things for everybody to have. The scarcity in our case was the problem about capital, labor and education.  The labor in Ecuador is $10 at day. They started working at 6 or 7 AM and the finish of day is at 5 or 6 PM.  The capital coming from the labor is too low. So the difference between Ecuador and the US is that in this country they can earn a little bit more than Ecuador. In the US the labor pay is by the hour. The minimum wage in Minnesota is about $7.25. If we multiply this wage by the 8 hours that people work it is more than Ecuador.  Really in this country are opportunities but there are consequences to it. The consequence is that maybe immigrants will have to go back to their country if the police stop them. It is a problem for us because we need money to go to school and yet working is difficult. If we want to work, employers want people who have experience.  

A shortage of education for people is very expensive. The choice was accepted by our parents to come to this country. The definition of demand in class was decided to be what you like or want most. The choice was what we want to get in the future for ourselves. Resources are anything that people use to make or do things to work. The resources for us are capital, labor and education. We were looking for jobs when we came to this country. Also we were looking for schools where we can study, depending on how much English we know. A trade-off is to give up one thing for another. The trade off for us was living in our home, Ecuador, and coming to the US. The opportunity cost is choosing one choice over another. But for us the opportunity cost was leaving our family, friends and our own house. It is the value of two choices, in our lives.

In this project the teacher made a question for us. The question was what is the cost of immigration for this population? People decide to leave their country and come to another because they want better things for themselves and their children. Most people leave their children in their country as our own case with our parents leaving us behind. Scarcity is a big problem because everybody who leaves their country leaves for some reasons. Some of these are labor and the capital, because the capital is scarce and there is too many laborers. Many people don’t have jobs to get money to survive. The cost for immigrant’s people is the lost affection from their kids because they had two choices, come to the United States or stay in their country where the economy is bad.  The people who are immigrants come to the United States and they start a new life with new resources to get ahead. For undocumented people their trade-off was leaving Ecuador. Because their choice was come to the United States since they didn’t have the resources to survive in Ecuador. So the opportunity cost for them the lost affection from their family, the loss of their land, the loss of some traditions. Sometimes when you find new friends you begin to obtain some new traditions from there. Also when the immigrant comes to this country another cost is that they have lost their freedom because when they come they have to make many debts to pay for the travel.  The travel is about $13,000. That it is so expensive. They have to pay it back with interest. Sometimes this interest is around 3%, 5%, 6%, or even 7%. This depends who is giving you this debt because if you don't know the person the interests may become around 10%.

In this country are there many laws in the immigration. Many people cannot drive because if the police stops them they go to directly to immigration and they go back to Ecuador. Not driving is a trade off because is difficult for people move from one place to another. So every time they have to be careful because they need pay their loans and debts. 


The cost of opportunity is that nothing is free for anybody.

The 3 A’s of Awesome! by Ibrahim Abdi

What could make your life better? There could be thousands of ideas to make yourself better, but what makes you stronger, a genius, and also gives you self confidence? To support my idea of persuading you how to put your life in a better place, I want to talk about the three A’s of awesome. These three words may change your life and give you more self-confidence. Keep in mind that you are a powerful person by having attitude, awareness, and authenticity.

Having a positive attitude lets you communicate with the other people surrounding you. At the same time, you become a more open-minded person. Consequently, you are more advanced socially. Becoming an open minded person is not easy, but I believe everyone in this universe has an attitude whether it is positive or negative. On the negative side you can only hurt yourself by having a bad attitude. On the contrary when we look at the positive side, you can change the whole world by having a positive attitude. You will get the power to captivate people and become a good example for the next generation behind you. To emphasize my notion, there is a wise quote that says “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” To express that more, an attitude is the most important part that links you to your society.

Being aware of yourself is an important strength that everybody needs to have. A crucial saying from an American humorist named James Thurber is, “Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.” The more aware you are, the more confidence you have. However, one question is how can someone develop more awareness? To become aware you need to be prepared all the time, and well organized. What I mean by well organized is, you need to avoid the things that can enervate you. In fact, it will emphasize your awareness. As a result, you will be aware of yourself and also your community.

People ask this question a lot, “What is the best way to become authentic?” Simply it is doing the ethical thing even if it means a loss of personal benefits for yourself. In other words, you will build the strength of your authenticity by making the right things and counter the wrong things.   Authenticity teaches you the true life. Telling the truth and being fair with all the people surrounding you is the main quality of authenticity. As we all know there were a lot of great leaders like Gandhi, Mandela, and so on, who were authentic and fair to their people. So we need to take them as an example. To become authentic, first we must do the right things, second we must tell the truth and finally realize that we are all equal.

In conclusion, these three words that I called the 3 A’s of awesome are very important to our life existence. Having a positive attitude, being aware of yourself, and also being authentic person tells that you have more self confidence than others. I believe that everybody has a special type of quality that can affect the world. Therefore, everybody could have a positive attitude, could be aware him/herself and also could have the authenticity to make the world a better place!

My First Love by Jalal Geleta

Have you ever fall in love with girl who have everything?  Love is something that can not be explained but we know that it has the power to do whatever it wants. Love doesn’t just choose big or small, rich or poor but it includes all people. I am one of those people that love included.  I don't know the the exact day I fell in love with this beautiful girl in my class but this girl taught me a lot about love. I was looking for love from a girl who had everything. When I say this, I know in this world all people are not the same. That means one is different from another. So it was so hard to find a girl who had everything, but this girl had everything.

So all day I said to myself this girl is mine and every time I saw her I was so happy. I thought about her all the time. So one day I decided to talk to her but I was so shy and I was too afraid to talk to girls. That worried me because I heard girls don’t like guys that are shy or don’t know how to talk them. They want to be happy and they like guys make them comfortable. But I’m not that kind of guy because I'm so shy.

For me it was so difficult to talk her. But I hoped love would give me the strength to do whatever I was afraid to do. So one day after school I decided to talk to her.  I still that scary feeling was in my heart. That day, I got so close to her but I missed my chance to tell her my feelings because I was so scared.  I'm wonder why I scared of girls but I think this scary thing came from my family. I heard my father was shy like me but he was good by talking.

Two days later, I saw her walking to her class alone. I called her name. She turned around and looked at me seriously. When she did that, I got too scared to talk to her again and kept on walking. As I was walking past her, I heard a voice coming from her direction, I couldn’t believe what I heard because the voice was calling my name. I thought to myself that it was a dream. So I kept on walking. Again I heard a voice saying “I’m talking to you”. The voice was so beautiful. When I turned around, it was that girl calling my name.

In a cool way I walked toward her and we started having conversation. After that day, we started talking to each other. Little by little we became good friends. We started joking around in class and also outside and we start to known each other well. I asked her few questions about her family and she asked me about mine. We talked about many things and I decided it was the time to tell her the truth.

I asked her one day you do believe in love. She said, “Yes.” I was so excited about  what I was hearing. I asked her another question, “Have you ever fallen in love?” She told me yes she had. Then she told me she had a boyfriend. When I heard that, my heart stopped. I didn’t expect that answer. I was so sad to hear that she had a boyfriend. At that moment, my hope for love disappeared. My future became dark. But I know one thing - Love lives forever.

My Life Belonged to Diabetes by Ahmed Roble

  Ignorance is the deadliest thing in the world.  Diabetes does not care what race you are.  I never knew about diabetes when I was living in Ethiopia.  It is very sad to leave.  I left my home, but my heart never left.  My name is Ahmed.  I was born in 1994 in Ethiopia in the city of Dire Dawa.  I left my country when I was 14 years old.  I came to America as a refugee.

My first day in the United States of America was Christmas Day.  I did not knew anything about Christmas and I saw some people who were wearing big red hats.  I thought those people were crazy, because I did not see those kind of people in my country.  I did not speak to them because I did not speak any English.

Day after day, I was very sick and went to the hospital. I could not use English to explain my sickness.  I was weak and tired with headache after headache.  The doctor contacted someone who interpreted between me and him.  However, when he contacted the interpreter  we did not understand each other because we spoke different  languages. I told the doctor that we did not understand each other. The doctor said, "Ok" and he also asked me, “What kind of food do you eat?”  I said, “me no English.”  I also said,  “waxaan rabaa bariis”? (That means I need rice.)

The first American food I ate was pizza.  I never saw food like that in my life.  I  said, “I hope I can go back to my Ethiopia. I will have someone who can help me”.

Three days later the doctor came to me and he told me, “You have diabetes”.  I asked him, “What was that?”  He explained to me the different types of diabetes. He said, “Use insulin and check your blood sugar”.  I was angry and sad.  I did not know how to use the insulin.  When I tried to use the insulin it hurt my entire body.  I went into a dark place and started to cry every day, because I was always feeling something bad.

After a couple of  months I learned step by step how to test to use the insulin. Since those two months, I asked myself why am I still here?  Earlier, I did not understand this disease.  Some in my community didn’t know anything about diabetes. They attacked me verbally.  I  ignore them and I will ignore for the rest for my life.

In conclusion, I have learned how to take care of my life.  I control the disease, It does not control me.  Now I know how to use insulin and to test my blood sugar.  I speak and communicate in English.

Life? by Egigayehu Ashagre

              “When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.” Life will be a struggle but try to be strong. If life makes you fall down to earth by losing what you have, be thankful and do not cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow because today is not the end of the world.  Living is like being a student. When you are a student, teachers will give you a test to measure what you know.  So if you did your work you will get a good grade. In our lives, God will give us a test to measure how strong we are. Life for me would be pitch dark if I lost my mom because she is my eyes.

            What my mother has done for me cannot be measured.  My mom held me in her stomach for 9 months. She watched her feet swell. She struggled to climb stairs. She got breathless quickly, and she suffered many sleepless nights.  She loves me despite what I have done to her.  She became my nurse, my teacher, my chef, my valet and my friend with love.  



            My mom is one of my teachers.  She never went to school.  She has no idea about school or being a student.  My mom doesn’t know how to read or write because when she was a kid nobody let her to go to school.  At that time there was discrimination.  Girls were treated inferior to boys. So at that time they must stay at home and help their families, but boys could go to school and could do whatever they wanted to do.  Boys had more freedom than girls.  She didn’t get a chance to go to school, but she encouraged me go.  


She didn’t want me to stay at home, she gave me a chance to learn.  Her hope is for me not to be like her; to be a smart student, to achieve my goals. She told me to focus only on my education and the other things of life will be after, when I achieve my goals.  I promise to myself to do what she wants to me to do because I want to make her very happy and very proud of me.  She teaches me about love and how to be a nice person for others.  That is why I say she is my teacher.



         My mom is my role model by her kindness, showing love, helping others and not being greedy.  I love her personality.  Always I want to be like her.  I love how she is full of goodness.  The thing is that I love that she remembers where she has been, no matter for her where she is now because she was poor.  That time of her life is like a big mountain for her.  It was hard to climb the mountain.  She did not care about herself, instead she cared about me.  She is not a greedy person, she is kind.  She doesn’t want to hurt people or make them sad.  She loves to help people who have nothing because she remembers where she has been.  If somebody asks her for something she doesn’t want to say no because she knows how life is.  If somebody says bad things to her, she is not going to say anything back but just ignore to them.  So my mom is my role model.   
     

         After she birthed me, she became selfless and she has struggled for me. When I cried, she cried with me.  When I was sick, she was sick with me.  When I smile, she will smile with me.  She did so many things for me that I can’t count.  When I think of her, I remember her laughing and she cooking for me.  Usually if I am not very hungry I don’t want to eat, but she tells me, “If you are not going to eat you will be sick.” Always when I come home from school, she knows that I am hungry.  She understands me before I speak.  


         When I was a little girl I had a few days with her.  At that time I were very happy because she gave me love and she bought whatever I wanted.  She understood me very well.  Then she left me with my grandmother and ran away to came to America.  I was carefree because I thought she would come back after a month, but she never came back.  When I thought of her, I cried a lot, got headaches, and slept.  When I saw other children with their mothers I felt deep sorrow and cried because my mom was not with me. I felt lonely.  After a long time, my mom called my grandmother and me.  When I heard her voice on the phone I could not control my tears. I could not say anything, and I was happy to hear her voice.  My mom told me that she would come back someday.  I had a dream to see my mom and to live with her.  After ten years, my mom came to see me and my grandmother. Then she started the process to take me to America, and after one year, I got my visa to come to America. I felt two things; happiness and sadness.  I was happy because my dream to live with my mom came true.  I felt sadness because I had to leave my grandmother.  Right now I live with my mom and I am so happy.



         Mom, I just want to let you know that every day I thank God for blessing me with a mother like you and if I had one wish I would wish that everyone else would at least have a mom as wonderful as you are.  You are not just my mom but one of my best friends. I love how you understand me and I can come to you for advice.  Thank you for always being here for me; I appreciate all that you give me.  Let me tell you that I love you too and want to be just like you. Like the great mother you are always my shining star. Mom, there is no word in the world that can describe you, saying I love you cannot describe you.  It’s not enough words.  Mom, let me tell you that I promise I will do that which you want to me to do.  The one thing that I always want to see is your happiness.  The one thing that I wish is to die before you die, because you are the most important person in my life.



              

Choosing Lives by Izamar Jimenez

Izamar's paper was written in response to this specific story regarding abortion: Choosing Lives

The life always is about making choices. For us as women, sometimes it is hard to decide between our life or the baby’s life we have inside our bellies.  It is hard because you get to a point where you start to love the baby that is growing inside of you.  But if I had to choose and the doctors made me decide between my life or the life of my babies I absolutely would choose the life of my baby because it is the decision of God, and mine because its my baby and it’s beautiful to give.

In my religion we believe that if someone dies it’s because God wants that person. God wants the person to become an angel. It is your destiny to die and also to help other people. In my opinion giving life to someone is the most important gift that God can give us.  In my Catholic religion we don’t believe that women have to abort because you have to love what you have inside.

Love makes you strong and able to make harder decisions in this life. People know that love is not easy so you always have to decide between love and other things. I know about this kind of situation because when my mom was pregnant she always had to stay into bed during the three pregnancies that she had. When my mom was pregnant with me, she had the same case as the story. The doctors told her that she needed to decide between her life or my life. My mom prefered my life because she loved me. Her love for me was stronger than any other thing. God didn’t decide to kill my mother or let me die. He decided to help us and now we are alive. Now she is the most important person to me and I love her a lot. She is my everything. That’s the reason that my mom took responsibility for me.

We know that if we have babies, it is our responsibility to take care of them because there is more to family than just us. For me as a woman, I want to take care of my family. But if I can’t, I want somebody else to be responsible for my babies. I know that is not going to be the same because if somebody doesn't have parents it is more difficult to have  happiness. But the gift of life is a gift of love.

In conclusion nobody can buy life. Life can require decisions even if you don't want something to happen.  You have to be happy. And always give a gift of life to somebody else. That is how life works.

My Scholarship Essay by Santosh Kumar Acharya

I almost died of an illness, witnessed my refugee camp burn to the ground and moved halfway across the planet - all before my fourteenth birthday. I was born in 1995 in a refugee camp in Nepal. The United Nations High Committee for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) were helping people who were refugees. We lived in a small tent near a forest. The UNHCR provided clothes for people in the refugee camp and the WFP sometimes gave rice, vegetables and other food every month or two weeks. To make matters worse, people from outside the camp came at night to steal many things from the refugees. They stole money, clothes, rice, and other things. In that forest lived elephants, monkeys, foxes, lions and deer. There was no electricity and we had to walk a long way to get water and firewood from the forest. If the police saw you cutting wood they would chase you and put you in jail.

Many people got sick there because of germs and viruses. Many people died of those diseases. I was one of those people who got sick and was sick for almost five months. My dad was very worried. He took me to India to obtain traditional medicine. I could not eat any food and could not talk. I was kept alive by drinking water and medicinal plants, but we had no modern medicine from the hospital. I had jaundice.

My courage helped me through my sickness, and after I got better, I walked and ate food, worked in my dad’s carpentry shop, and played with my friends.
In April 2006 a fire engulfed the refugee camp at night. Our neighbors shouted frantically, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” Many people started running. I did not believe that the fire would burn our house. My mom said, “Run! Run, Santosh! The fire is approaching our house and it is going to burn!”

We were going to lose everything in the house. Nobody was able to stop the fire. Eventually, the fire burned all thirteen hundred houses in the refugee camp including our house. It was a disastrous moment for me and my family. We had no money, no food or anything. Whatever we had was burned by the fire.

We had to spend two years in the forest waiting to come to America. After one year the UNHCR started sending people to seven different countries like the United States, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. When we heard this it was the most exciting news for us. We are some of those people that were able to come to the United States. I was only 13 years old and it was so difficult to spend 26 hours in the airplane to come to the Minnesota airport.

Now I am 16 and I live with my parents and siblings in Minneapolis. I am working hard in school to graduate and I want to use my education to help my family. I hope from reading my story you can understand why college is important to me.

After I graduate from high school, I want to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. I would like to major in Computer Science or Biology and later go to Medical school. I want to complete a four year degree and then go to graduate school. I sometimes daydream about what it will feel like. In my dreams I am always wearing a scarlet cap and gown and holding a speech where I get to thank everyone who helped me. It is a long list. If I am accepted at the University then I promise to be the best student and person I can be. I look forward to all the opportunities and challenges I will face. When I graduate from college I will be the first person in my family to have done so.

I think computer science is a good way to use technology to make our lives better and improve communication between countries of the world. If I become a doctor I would like to help people in other parts of the world where there is very little health care service. I am very determined to reach my goals. I believe the hardship of my life has made me very strong and with much empathy for other people. I know it will be many long and difficult years. But my life as a refugee taught me tenacity and courage. I want to serve other immigrants and especially other young people who need examples of intelligent and courageous and dedicated adults. To reach my goals it is important to have an excellent education.