Why Dental Hygiene? This was never the career that I imagined myself to be in. To be completely honest, I did not know it existed. In all my life I have gone to one dental office and I have never seen a dental hygienist. With the help of the dental assistants my dentist would be the one doing my cleaning.
How did I get here? College was always the plan; without a doubt and this is because of parents. My parents have done a lot for my brothers and I. They immigrated to the United States, when they were just sixteen years old, to have a better life for themselves and for their children in the future . Once they arrived here, they went to work straight away. They were not able to go to school, live like a regular teenager and go to college. They came here to work hard, live well, and help their parents economically. Because of the circumstances they lived in, in their country, they had to stop school after sixth grade to earn money for their families. Coming here to the United States is where they realized that going to college and earning a degree is very important for your future and that is exactly what they wanted their children to do. For this reason, since we were in high school my parents were my brothers and I motivation to do well in school. We want them to be happy and show them that we are very proud of them and grateful for making the sacrifices they did throughout their life to make our lives better. I am proud to say that I will be the first one to graduate in the family.
What it means to be a first-generation student? Difficult, but very rewarding. Having no knowledge of the different careers in the world and how to go about schooling to get there was a big obstacle for me. With the help of my guidance counselor I was able to get through this and apply to college.
