COLLEGE SCHOLARS PROGRAM ’18 | TUFTS UNIVERSITY ’22

As a young student, I had an incredible education. I was born and raised in Costa Rica until the age of 12, where I attended a private school that taught half the day in English and the other in Spanish. I credit a lot of my values and discipline to having been educated this way. Due to economic difficulties, my mom, brother, and I moved to the US. The educational experience was on the other extreme. The public schools I attended were very low-funded, a lot of the student body was unmotivated, and resources were very scarce. It became difficult to keep a strong vision of where I wanted to go and even more difficult to even have an idea of how to go about it. I ultimately found that I was able to stay on course with my goals and dreams because of my amazingly supportive family. We were raised with the highest of values and with a mindset that education can and will open all doors.

I learned about SEEDS through two middle-school friends who had participated in the Scholars Program. At the time, I didn’t know that SEEDS offered other programs. My mom was researching how we could afford a better education here in the US and eventually found information about a College Scholars program. Once I realized that it was part of SEEDS, I knew it would be something life-changing. As we learned more about the program, we decided that it would be an incredible opportunity to apply for.

Applying to SEEDS was of huge importance to my family and me. College in the US is very expensive and applying is scary. My mom had always valued education and raised us with the mentality that school is the way to go. I knew I wanted a college education and to pursue my passions in academics but didn’t know how I could afford it or learn more about it. In under-resourced high schools, there aren’t many resources or guidance, so I felt lost. Then SEEDS came along and supplied me and my family with all the resources we could ever need, and of course, an incredible support base. As a College Scholar, I learned how to best showcase myself through application essays, and how to speak with admissions representatives, I toured colleges for free, received ACT exam preparation, and financial support with my applications. Combining my passion and determination with the resources that SEEDS had to offer allowed for everything to become a plan that just could not fail.

Being a part of SEEDS taught me to believe in myself. When Tufts University was added to my top-ten schools’ list, all I could focus on was the 15% acceptance rate. I immediately thought “that is not me, I am not in that 15%”. I knew that I was more than qualified, but my heart and mind did not believe it. Thankfully, everyone at SEEDS believed in me. There were so many instances in which I would let self-doubt take over my mind; self-doubt about where I attended high school, my family’s income, and the fact that I was not raised in this country. But my professors, classmates, and the SEEDS staff constantly remind me that I was more than good enough and that a college degree was for me. Because I had a support base that was strong and inspiring, I finally began to believe in myself and genuinely envisioned myself at Tufts. This has carried over for me in all aspects of my life since. Now, I’m not afraid to dream big because I know that any goal I set for myself is attainable.

Having come from a lower socioeconomic background to then attending school with peers who were more affluent was extremely different from what I had previously experienced. Students at my school are very wealthy and it is often difficult to connect with them as our backgrounds are quite different. I also couldn’t identify myself with most of my peers, and although difficult, there was also a lot of beauty in that. In high school, everyone was similar to me, and I felt limited to a small population with very like-minded people. While this made me feel very comfortable and at home, it was not showing me what the real world was like. At Tufts, I came to meet people from all backgrounds who are just as motivated and struggle in different aspects. It has truly enriched me, and I have loved and enjoyed bonding with people who are nothing like me.

Yet, the academic aspect of it was tough. It can be very discouraging coming into college without strong high school education. Most of my peers were thriving because they had a very strong academic background, so the material was just review to them. This constantly made me feel like I was just trying to keep up. However, Tufts offered a lot of support resources, from a Latino Center, a Society of Hispanic Engineers, to the Center for STEM Diversity – these, and many more organizations and resources, were there to support me and provide me with books, tutoring, financial assistance, and anything I might need.

Before SEEDS, I didn’t know that Tufts even existed, and I didn’t fully believe in myself. I wanted to achieve certain things but had no clear path or the resources to do so. I don’t think I would have been as successful as I am now had it not been for SEEDS. I knew I had a lot of potential and a lot to offer, but I was not very motivated in regard to realizing my full potential. Building my career would have been much more difficult and I would have been very unprepared. SEEDS prepared me extremely well for many challenges and not only built me up as a student but as an individual. SEEDS played a major role in my having a strong and very resilient mentality.

To those students who now follow in my footsteps, I want them to know that SEEDS has all the support and resources you could ever need to succeed and accomplish your goals, but SEEDS is not going to do the work for you. You need to work hard and push your heart and brain to get to where you want to go. Everything that SEEDS has to offer will come as a big bonus, but it all ultimately comes down to you and how committed you are.