RENE PADILLA

My life in Mexico was not easy at all. I was thirteen years old when I started working because I needed to help my family. However, my determination to keep myself in school gave me the motivation to not give up. It was until I was seventeen years old, in 2007, when I had the chance to come to the United States. Since education has always been an important part of my life, I finished high school and began attending college. My first year in college was hard because I was still learning English. It was until the second year of college when an amazing opportunity became available. I had the chance to attend the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOP&S) orientation. After having been accepted in the program, my life in college positively changed. The frequent personal counseling offered by the program gave me the information needed to succeed in college. Also, my counselor helped me to build a study plan that I was able to follow easily. Another great support from the EOP&S program was the book voucher given every semester that really helped me. Having the required books every semester actually increases the chance a student has to succeed in college. I am truly glad to have been part of the program in the past couple years. Nevertheless, my academic journey has not ended yet. I still have to become a prominent physicist. I still have to research the universe and unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.