Personal Narrative: My Father In Nicaragua

As the car spun, all of my best memories played in my mind: my father teaching me about the solar system, the birth of my siblings, the first time I rode a bicycle, the day my parents decided to be together again, my graduation, the day I was notified I had won the Walton Scholarship, my first day in the United States, among others. Once Kaela, my roommate, and I, were able to leave the fuming car, we crawled to the edge of the road to lie on the ground and assess our injuries. Two ladies that were driving by, came to our rescue and took us to the hospital. During the entire ride to the hospital, as I struggled to remain conscious, I could not help but repeat, “Please Kaela, tell them not to send me back to Honduras, I need to help my family.”

As the eldest of four children, and the daughter of two loving and hard-working parents, I learned to fight for my dreams and care for my family very early on in life. Ever since I can remember my parents encouraged me to follow my dreams and “fly away from the nest.” For this reason, after I graduated high school in December, 2011, I dreamed to come to the United States to obtain an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Biology. I wanted to study in the U.S. for three major reasons: to help my family, to fulfill my dreams of becoming a researcher, and to escape the violent and pessimistic conditions of my city and

After almost one year of working as a teaching assistant, even though I received scholarship offers, I still could not afford neither the college expenses, nor leaving my family with only my mother’s income. Nonetheless, one day when I was volunteering at the local hospital, everything changed: A new volunteer told me about the Walton International Scholarship Program (WISP). The WISP is a very prestigious program created by the Walton Family Foundation that continually funds 60 students per year from Mexico and Central America at three respected institutions in Arkansas. This 4-year program includes full tuition, room and board, books, and even a monthly stipend. After a rigorous 6-month application process, and from a nationwide pool of over 1,000 applicants, I was blessed with the opportunity of being 1 out of the 6 annually chosen Honduran scholars. I quit my job as a teaching assistant and left Honduras, filled with hopes and dreams to help my family and one day, my