My family and I migrated to the United States in 2006. Filled with hopes of escaping the chains of poverty and inequality that had enslaved our family for generations, we left the world we knew and the language we praised, to embark on a foreign land of possibilities, unhindered by the past. We soon experienced the challenges that many immigrants who made this nation their home also saw: the language barrier, adaptability in a different world of concrete, fast cars, fast...

Of anyone in the world, who would you chose to be the student in your class and why? I would choose Booker T. Washington as the other student in my class which would most likely be centered around history, civil rights, people of color in America and education. A former slave, Washington contributed firsthand to the making of a new America for people of color in a land made unequal since birth. His spirit and his passion to better the...

What does it mean to be an immigrant? As my family and I moved from rural Oaxaca to Texas one morning in 2006, for the rest of my life I would always have to pose this question. My identity and my culture would remain at worst undefined and at best highly malleable. Uprooting oneself from one's identity is easily done at eight. My mango-filled days became McDonald's afternoons without trouble. A child takes what she is given. Even the language of...

I like computer science and art, two powerful fields that are revolutionizing our lives. The language of computer science requires the same passion and patience that learning English does. Both are just communication. Once learned, just as with English, computer science empowers me to solve problems. For instance, as I learn in class about object-oriented programming, I can dream of designing an interactive program to communicate with children with autism or to make calculus a rewarding game. Then there is...