Help Glenda Pursue Her Dream of Studying Mathematics

There are some students who leave a lasting mark on your heart. For me, that student is Glenda Perez.

When the world shut down during COVID, Glenda would often sit in my office. She was quiet, thoughtful, and determined to stay connected in a time when so many were isolated. Her middle school years were spent mostly in solitude, but in that stillness she grew into one of the most resilient and compassionate young people I have ever met. It was her pranks, games, and the notes she and her best friend left behind that made the hardest days of the pandemic worth it.

In high school, Glenda discovered her passion for mathematics, not just as a subject but as a source of purpose and power. In her college essay, she wrote:

“In my Ecuadorian household, I’m the youngest of five. I often felt invisible, my achievements slipping into the background. This neglect had me questioning my self-worth daily…

‘Mami! Mami!’ I shouted as I ran around our cramped apartment, drawing red-orange squiggly lines on our yellow walls.

She watched me silently, waiting until I turned away to paint over my artwork.”

Those words have always stayed with me because they capture the honesty and heart that make Glenda who she is. She carried that feeling of being unseen for years until, as she wrote later, she met math.

“He spoke to me. He urged me to pull out the greatest common factors from polynomials and do the same with the feeling of worthlessness within myself. I uncovered a purpose and strength I’d always had but never recognized. I was not invisible; I have my own journey.”

Glenda had been accepted to Queens College to study mathematics. Her dream was to become a math educator and show other young people how learning can help them find their own worth. But just before she was set to begin this new chapter, tragedy struck.

At the end of her senior year, Glenda’s mother was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and passed away over the summer. With her mother gone and her college plans suddenly uncertain, Glenda began working full time to save for tuition and try to keep her dream alive.

Now, I am asking for your help to make sure Glenda can still pursue that dream. She has the talent, drive, and heart to change the world. She just needs the chance to take that next step.

Every dollar raised will go directly to Glenda’s college tuition and expenses so she can enroll at Queens College and study mathematics, the subject that helped her find her voice and her value.

Glenda is not invisible, and together we can help her shine.

Thank you for reading and for believing in this incredible young woman.