At the age of 13, I came to America without knowing a single word of English.

In Honduras, my life was different compared to living here because I only knew about my culture and my language and moving to the U.S was an extreme change.

The main reason I moved here was because my family fell victim of crime.

My grandmother, who took care of me since I was a toddler, was murdered in July 2007 by some gangsters who stole a microwave, some jewelry and a stereo system that we had in the living room.

My mother decided that it was best for me to move to America, so my life wouldn’t be at risk living in my home country.

When she told me that I was moving with her to a new country, my first thought was “that means a new life that I have to start from zero.”

And it was exactly how I thought it would be, I had to start all over again.

The biggest challenge that I had to overcome was the language barrier.

There were many people in school that wanted to be my friend, but I couldn’t make any friends because I was afraid that they would speak to me in English and I wouldn’t be able to respond back.

Two weeks after I moved, I met people that also spoke Spanish.

It was then that I thought that school wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Throughout the years, this didn’t stop other students from bullying me because of my accent. Even during my first year at El Camino there was a student from my English class that made fun of the way I spoke English.

Back in high school I was afraid of the thought of even going to college.

I always thought that I was wasting my time even thinking about it, because I wouldn’t be able to go to college because I was from another country.

But now I’m very proud of what I have done. I graduated from high school and I’m about to transfer to a four-year university.

My family has supported me since day one because they want me to have a professional career and have a better life than what I have right now.

Although they helped me overcome my obstacles, the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) at EC, which is a program that helps students with tutoring, counseling, and book vouchers, has helped me as well.

I have had to learn to strive to go above and beyond, to always look to the future and push myself forward.

And although English was hard for me at first, I have come a long way and hope to be a professional broadcaster in the future.