By Adriana Guadana Huizar, Fellow Class of 2017
College of the Holy Cross
I distinctly remember walking to the building where my Washington, D.C. semester interview would be taking place, anxiety and stress slowly making their way to the bottom of my stomach. Mindfully, I had given myself some time to drink water and review the main points I wanted to convey to my interviewers. As I sat down to review, self-doubt started to join my feelings of anxiety and stress. “This year Holy Cross had the highest number of applicants to D.C. … will I even make it?” “Are my grades and application what they are looking for?” As I began taking deep breaths, I got a notification: incoming FaceTime call from “mami”. “Just what I need- mami’s intuition is up to something,” I thought, “I haven’t told her I applied for the program for fear that I might not get accepted, and here she is, about to discover me”. I accepted the call and she immediately asked why I was dressed up. I told her that I was about to interview for the Washington D.C. program, her eyes welled up and she gave me a huge smile. She encouraged me to go to my interview, confident in my abilities and unique traits. We wrapped up our call and I headed towards the interview room. I reminded myself of the communities of support I have built at Holy Cross and back in Colorado, particularly the LAW SCHOOL … Sí Se Puede team. My team of mentors have encouraged and supported me throughout my college career and as I start thinking about law school. The support system and words of advice they provide have been incredible benefits of being a fellow. Even though they are not physically with me, remembering their encouragement gave me the confidence I needed.
My parents instilled in me the value of education and how it is a tool that nobody can strip away. The team of mentors I have echo these values which I, and my parents, appreciate very much. Today, I am proud to say that I am a first-generation college student, two years away from arriving at Senior Convocation, and a student that will be participating in the Washington, D.C. semester program, taking a course in public policy and gaining internship experience in the immigration policy field. I will carry the tools and skills that I gain from these experiences into my ultimate career dream, which is to become an immigration attorney. I am confident that, with my team of LSSSP mentors, I will be provided with guidance - particularly in sharing their journey through college and law school, support - as the law school admission process is long, but also in empowerment, the greatest gift of all.
