My proudest moment in my life is the fact you are reading this today, while I am fighting for my life, everyday dealing with Lupus and Kidney Failure at the unexpected age of 23, this has made simple tasks extremely difficult to complete. I am not one to give up and quit, I will continue to assess all my options, and as the oldest of four siblings, I feel even more determined to be a stronger, positive and a better role model. I want to have a positive attitude and show my siblings that no one, but yourself will stop you from having or making your future better. So, I will not make excuses for my future. There will be no excuses made at home by my siblings, as I have gone to school and got jobs with my disease. I happily accepted the challenge of going back to school. I am in the process of buying all in into my future; I am a student attending Los Angeles Harbor College and have become a Scholar in the process. Now I am taking on another challenge and participating in the ASO. I want to promote and encourage all students of LAHC to be involved in their education and personal development. Being a Pacific Islander, I have joined APASS to learn more about my culture and possibilities that are out there for my ethnic group. In addition, my intentions are to bring about the awareness for students with disabilities and the resources they have at LAHC. My motivation is promoting positivity for those in need of encouragement and having hope to one day remove the stigma of having a disability, and ultimately being part of a school that promotes diverse groups on campus. We are all students aiming for the same goal with in mind if it is a degree or certificate. We are here for a better future for family and ourselves down the road. We all have our own way of achieving that goal and not a single student should ever feel they are being look down on. Via their GPA, Race, Disability, and or Career Choice. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. With that, I hope that team ASO can help our Family in Harbor College in all areas possible as improving our campus for our Family is our main goal.

 

Carlos "JUNNZ" Rivera

ASO VP of Finance

 

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