Reflective Essay: Being The Only Latino Students

It was my family’s legacy of determination, dedication and perseverance that had fueled me to face and overcome the stereotypes that were imposed on me in high school. During my junior year, I enrolled in AP Calculus with the indefatigable support and encouragement of my parents. Initially, this class was a nightmare due to the academic expectations and amount of assignments. I often doubted in my own ability to succeed in the class. I found inspiration and internal motivation to continue the battle by observing my industrious and diligent parents.

After much effort invested, this course soon became my favorite academic subject but I still had to conquer many challenges ahead. Being the only Latino student, I often felt profiled and excluded

That change of motive, prompted me to begin attending all after school tutoring sessions to learn to master my skills by seeking any and all resources available, including other math teachers on campus. My perseverant efforts were recognized by my teacher and he began to have an interest in helping me in my pursuit and desire to improve.

Additionally, he began to understand my deep incentive to destroy the imposed profile. My test scores began to rise exponentially. When I received my midterm score of 98%, a score better than all the students profiling me, it was a day of victory. This indeed was one of my proudest moments.

Through this experience, I learned that the portrayals and words we use have power and can destroy a person’s self-esteem. It took determination and hard work to not allow their negative comments to crush me. Rather, I used them as motivation to break the stereotype. Nowadays, the peers who once teased me, seek my friendship and advice and some have been apologized for their actions. Earning a score of 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam is one proof that their views were fallacious and another was the spark to pursue a career in