I come from a tropical country were both beaches and rainforests are abundant. I am a proud Panamanian who was born 21 years ago. I have been in Austin for three years now and I absolutely love it! Being away from home has been a challenge, but has allowed me to get out f my comfort zone and meet wonderful people.

Since I was little, my parents have always taught me that education is your only weapon against poverty and injustice. They have also shown me that being an active member of the community is transcendental for the development of a person. For these reasons, I have worked to become a well-rounded individual by balancing an unwavering commitment to academic excellence with on campus involvement. This past academic year has been particularly exciting for me. I became part of the Orange Jackets, founded A Seed of Hope, volunteered with Workers Defense Project, worked as a Peer Career Mentor, and was accepted into the Financial Analyst Program.

I especially feel it is very important to help others through empowerment. For this reason, I along with some friends founded A Seed of Hope, in order to empower girls in rural Panama to achieve their dreams by providing them with educational opportunities. Likewise, I know that Texas 4000 will allow me to empower the people that are affected by cancer. I will be able to contribute to the research for cancer, to raise awareness about the disease, and inspire people fighting that battle with the disease.

I ride for all cancer patients that cannot receive the appropriate treatment. In Panama, medical treatment for cancer patients is deplorable. I ride because I want to pay tribute to all those people that cannot receive medication for treatments themselves. Especially for the 28 patients in Panama who were affected by the overexposure of radiation in 2000.

I also ride for my grandfather whose battle against cancer ended last summer. Since I was in Austin studying, and he was in Panama I could only be with him during his last days. I saw how much he struggled to fight it; he died, however, on a Tuesday night. I want to ride in his memory and for the memory of all the good people that fight cancer.