I moved to the United States in 2013 from Guatemala. I did not speak English when I moved here. My goal was to learn English and just make it through High School. College was never in my plans; it was only a dream, but I need to say that RPS believed in me and gave me the confidence that I couldn’t find in myself.
One of my biggest obstacles was money. College was too expensive to cover all by myself, but thanks to RPS, which was there for me not only for moral support but also for financial support, my student loans decreased significantly.
Another challenge I faced during college was that since I am a first-generation college student, my family didn’t know or couldn’t guide me or advise me about the college experience. But having a mentor that is there for you, someone that you can trust, has helped me a lot to overcome a lot of the challenges I faced in college. I always knew who to call when I had a question or when I didn’t know what to do on certain occasions. By the time I was done with college, my mentor had become more than a mentor; he had become a friend, someone that I could actually trust.
Since I was a kid, I have wanted to build things. Now that I am a young project engineer, my dream has come true. My goal is to keep growing within the company I currently work for.
After completing college, the real world hits you, and I need to say that my construction management career so far has been full of excitement and experience. Since I finished college, I have completed five construction projects.
Without RPS, this dream would never have come true. They offered me the support and guidance that my family couldn’t give for being the first generation attending college.