Belief in yourself can take you anywhere
BY JOSE ORONIA
Growing up I had to go through many obstacles to get to where I am currently. I am proud of myself for making it this far with the card life threw at me. I am a first-generation college graduate and a Latino in STEM from a small town in Eastern Washington. My odds were never in my favor, but I had perseverance and grit to get to where I am at as a Software Engineer. I am now working on getting my MBA from Washington State University while working full-time. I’ve been doubted all the time ever since being a kid but that has not stopped me from reaching my own goals and aspirations in life because of my ambition and drive. I know my own potential, and no one can stop me from reaching my goals and dreams!
In elementary school, my first obstacle was trying to communicate with other students. My first language was not English like the many students who come from an English-speaking household. I remember struggling to understand what the teacher was even trying to communicate in the lessons and then going home not understanding what the heck I needed to learn. Later down the road during kindergarten, they notified my parents that I had a speech/speaking problem that needed to be addressed. I was then put into speech therapy where I would be taken out of class to see a school therapist. It still haunts me to this day because I vaguely remember leaving class while the teacher was teaching and then me going to this very little room by the cafeteria where I would be asked to pronounce and describe what I was seeing on these small flashcards. Luckily, I was able to overcome my speech therapy, but I still had to cross the line on one more thing, which was trying to catch up to the state level requirements to graduate from K-5. Again, I was removed from the class twice a week to attend a special classroom in my school. It was called the DEN. This was where all the students who needed extra help in math, science, and English would go for individual instruction and attention. This allowed me to complete two sets of math, science, and English courses. Even though these were a few of the hardest times of my life, I am thankful for them because they taught me to never give up and have taught me that failing is okay and that I can overcome them with my work ethic and effort.
High School came with its own set of challenges that remind me that I should be proud of all that I have accomplished thus far because it is important to celebrate our wins. Entering as a freshman I knew I wanted to go to college, but little did I know, the classes I was put in were not going to help me reach that goal for me and my family. Again, I was put into lower standard English, Math, and Science classes. Luckily, I went up to a family friend who then was a Senior helping other Latinos/Latinas and first-generation college students understand the process of applying for college. She told me the hard truth that the classes I was in were not going to help me get there and that I needed to reach out to my school counselor to put me into higher-level classes. With the advice I received, I went to my counselor as a ninth-grader demanding I needed to be placed in grade state-level reading, math, and science classes.
At first, my school counselor said I wasn’t ready, but I persuaded them to give me a chance to prove that I am more than capable of performing at the state level. I proved them wrong and I enrolled in grade state-level classes. I even decided to challenge myself more by taking Advanced Placement classes at the start of tenth grade. Since I love the sport of soccer, I too had the dream of one day being able to play college soccer but that presented challenges as well during my time in high school but that is a long-separate story.
Twelfth grade came and it was time to apply for colleges and hopefully fulfill my dream of also playing college soccer. The very first admissions letter I received stated that I was not academically ready for the rigorous curriculum found at the college I applied to. I ignored it and was hopeful that I would eventually get accepted to my other top schools. Whitworth was one of them. They believed in my potential and I was accepted and I decided to attend for my undergraduate degree. I ended up also getting a soccer scholarship to attend a school on the east coast to play college soccer under scholarship, but I decided not to take the opportunity to play at the collegiate level for personal reasons, but it makes me happy to know that I had the opportunity to compete at that level.
Again in college, I faced adversity. I was going to give up on my dream to graduate with a degree in Computer Science because I was struggling with the Math and Physics classes. I would literally fail tests, but that did not scare me off because I would study more for the next tests and go in for extra help during my professors' office hours. I literally lived and breathed studying, sacrificing time with friends and free time because getting a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science was more important for me and my future. I look back on those hard times and tell myself how grateful I am for not giving up or backing down. The hard work paid off in the end.
After reading my story I hope you take something out of it. I hope you advocate for yourself, believe in yourself, don’t be afraid of failing, and never let someone tell you what you can do or what you can’t accomplish. Always reflect on how you can improve or become better. Talent only takes you so far in life, but hard work and belief in yourself can take you anywhere.
