Support a future surgeon on his education journey

Hello Friends and Community,

Imagine waking up one day to terrifying news. You learn that you must sell all your belongings, your home, you have to say goodbye to your family, as well as all your friends. How do you feel? Are you sad? Maybe angry, scared, or nervous? This is where my story begins. My name is Ricardo, I am a prospective Master of Public Health student, aspiring to become a trauma surgeon.

Almost 8-9 years ago, my family and I came to this country with nothing but the clothes we had on. This change of life wasn’t planned; it just came from nowhere, and America views us as a burden to this country because of this decision. It is not easy to recreate a new life when time is not in your favor. How would you feel arriving to a country where the education system was not designed with you in mind? I was a foreigner with limited English. On my first day, my schedule was full of non-bilingual classes. Here I was, a straight “A” student buried under obstacles preventing me from showing my true abilities. In addition to this stress, my responsibilities included picking up my siblings from school, taking care of them, helping with homework, feeding them, and completing house chores since my parents work 15-18 hours a day. This was my life during my high school journey.

But all that changed the last year of high school (2019-2020), I finished high school with a 3.9 GPA, and I decided to continue my higher education by attending the University of Washington (UW). Entering UW was a dream for me, I didn’t believe where I was standing and I was very grateful with all the supporters that I have during this journey, all those people who provided scholarships, friends who supported me in my high and lows. Nothing it is perfect, we are humans and life it is not fair, I can’t say school was easy for me, in fact I can say it was hard. My classmates could review material one time, but I would have to do it almost three times more. But I did not give up. I don’t hate my past, in fact I am thankful with all my adversities since it helped me grow at personal and professional level, and helped me to keep persevering. At the end I did it: I was able to graduate with a Barchelors degree in Public Health-Global Health with a Minor in Anthropology.

This fall, Autumn 2024, I will start my journey to pursue a Master of Public Health degree in Global Health here at UW. And I am asking you for any help and support with paying with my tuition for this MPH journey. Tuition and housing costs $38,000 per year. Fortunately, I was able to receive $10,500 of scholarships to be disbursed throughout the year, meaning that I still need $26,500* and must pay $8,610 by October 11. I am still waiting to find out about other funding opportunities that I have applied to, hoping I can pursue my studies.

I am an undocumented student, the first in my family to attend a university. Despite being ineligible for FASFA and student loans, I was able to finish my Bachelor's undergraduate journey thanks to all the possibilities that I was able to apply for. However, after undergraduate school, financial aid is reduced for undocumented students. After graduation in Spring 2024, I was hoping to apply to Medicine school to fulfill my dream goal. However, because of the opportunities that were created without me in mind, I had to postpone going to medicine school and decide to go to an MPH program, hoping I could find a way to pursue my education. That’s why I am writing this to you all, friends, family, and community. I want to ask for your support in my journey to become a future trauma surgeon and be able to give back to my community.

Thank you so much for your time and support.

~Ricardo

*Expenses included in the $26,000 total:

$12,000 for housing and food expenses ($1,000 per month)

$14,000 for UW tuition and fees (2024-2025 school year)