Leslie

I am a business major, writer and poet with a positive and colorful outlook on life. I was born and raised in Oakland, California, to a Mexican father and a Nicaragüense Mother. As an ambitious Latina, life has been a struggle for me because I am constantly trying to break through boundaries and limitations that others put on me. Growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods of Oakland, I was exposed to crime and social injustices at a young age. The schools I attended were deprived of financial resources and produced poor quality education. In freshman year of high school an English teacher once encouraged me to drop out of school “because I would never amount to anything”. So at the age of 16 I was on the verge of dropping out of high school. Fortunately, my tenacious nature did not let me become another Oakland teen drop out statistic. My parents along with my life experiences have taught me to be resilient and continue to fuel my ambitious spirit.

I am a highly motivated individual who dedicates time and hard work to accomplish the dreams and goals I set for myself. Confronting challenges by solving problems is my forte. As I look forward to the completion of my Bachelors degree in Business—and Masters degree soon after—I have set my long-term sights on becoming a Chief Operations Officer for a company with an international division. I also aspire to share my success with my community, and have been particularly inspired by the NYNY program to one day establish a sister branch of this fellowship program in California, so that ambitious youth of the Bay Area can also be connected to this grand opportunity!