Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Manuel Alejandro Custodio. (Emelyn Gomez) Creciendo en una casa con otros 16 familiares, Manuel Alejandro Custodio tuvo que buscar nuevas maneras de enfrentar sus desafíos. “My mom finished middle school. My dad, I'm not even sure if my dad finished high school, but you know, the expectation was always college. And I wasn't sure I was gonna get there, but I knew I had to be there,” he said. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfize

Written by: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Isabel Polanco. (Emelyn Gomez) As Isabel Polanco practiced for her lifelong dream of completing a marathon before 22, she reflected on how much of her college journey was a race of its own. Beginning the race wasn't easy. Coming from a low-income background, her parents valued and encouraged her to pursue a higher education, just like her mom did in the Philippines. Though the mindset was instilled in her, the financial means to attain

Written by: Sophia da Silva 🇧🇷 Headshot of Alexa Rosales. (Emelyn Gomez) When Alexa Rosales thinks of strength, she thinks of her mother. “She came here with absolutely nothing,” Rosales said. Her mother, alongside her siblings, immigrated from Peru at 16 years old and had Rosales when she was 24. Without her parents, she was required to figure everything out on her own. “She's gone through so much, and she's still standing,” Rosales said. It’s an example of resilience tha