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I worked really, really hard
in high school to get to UVA,

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but then I figured out, upon
coming to UVA, that I have

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to work a hundred times harder.

4
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I was a first-generation,
low-income student,

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and so I really aimed for
a top-tier university that

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could give me a really great
opportunity for a career path

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to provide financial stability
for my mom and my family.

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I was involved in
various organizations.

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I was trying to keep up
and maintain great grades.

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I was working a part-time
job on the weekends,

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and it really bogged down on me.

12
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Yeah, it was really
difficult my first year.

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It wasn't until I
found the community

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of first-generation
and low-income students

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that I really understood
that I'm not alone.

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I'm really happy that
I found this community

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because they made me
realize that there's

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a home for everyone here.

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One day in my email
I found something

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about Hoos First Look.

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Two of my good friends were
starting a new fly-in program

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for the university.

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I thought, wow, like,
this is a great program,

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and I wish this was
something that existed

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when I was applying to UVA.

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We fly in 20 first-generation,
low-income prospective

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high-school juniors.

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We show them the different
financial resources

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and academic resources
that are available to them,

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and we partner with the
Office of Admissions

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to give them tailored one-on-one
advice on how they can

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be a more competitive
applicant when applying

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to UVA and other colleges.

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Of course there's this really
deep social experience

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where they're able to meet
other first-generation,

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low-income students, network,
and just build relationships.

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I realized that
there's such a need

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for a community for the
first-generation, low-income

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identity.

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It was so amazing to see how we
touched these high schoolers'

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lives.

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I know that I can serve
as a mentor for them

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and help them find
these resources.