OPPORTUNITY

If you had asked my younger self where I’d be today, I could not have imagined I’d be here.

Not only am I attending CSU, but I’m an undergraduate researcher working with professors to examine the connections between nutrition and function of the cardiovascular system. I’m also a first-generation student, a member of CSU’s Community for Excellence, a Presidential Ambassador, and a Reisher Scholar (based on academic merit and financial need).

I’ve come a long way. I was born and raised in Greeley, Colorado, to a working father and a mother who struggled with addiction. I was 7 or 8 years old when I started caring for my sister, who was an infant at the time. I sought ways to meet basic needs – even lying to recess monitors that I had stomachaches so I could go to the school nurse for saltines. Determined to build a better future for my family, I promised myself, my sister, and my older brother that I would get us out of this cycle – that our future families would never know addiction and all it causes.

I dove into education and ultimately landed at CSU, where I finally have the opportunity to succeed. Were it not for the support of Colorado State University and my mentors here, I would still be in my hometown hoping to make something of myself. I’m forever grateful for the chance to build a better life for myself and my family through the transformative power of education.

I know my fight is not over. In addition to managing demanding course work in classes such as anatomy and chemistry, I continue to support my family financially by working as an emergency medical technician on weekends and as an undergraduate research assistant on weeknights. I remain a caretaker to my sister, who is in her first year of high school; my brother will join CSU in the spring. We are all working toward further education and stability. Upon graduation from CSU, I aspire to attend graduate school and pursue a career in medicine – a field in which I hope to help others thrive.

At CSU, I have found opportunity. I know my voice holds value; I am recognized and supported in my journey. I also see that education is directly connected to the purpose of our democracy, as described in the Declaration of Independence: Our government and its branches – including public universities – were formed to help people secure the rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Opportunity and democracy are intertwined, and opportunity is exactly what I have found at CSU.

Photo at top: Phoenix Espinoza is a junior studying biomedical sciences at CSU. Photo: Mary Neiberg.