Get to know Paola, one of Access Opportunity's Student Ambassadors for the 2024-25 school year.
Paola will be a junior at the University of Denver this year. Throughout the year, we will get to know her better through her stories, experiences, and advice for her fellow AO students.
In Her Own Words
Hello! My name is Paola Garcia Barron. I am the second oldest daughter of six siblings. I am the daughter of two hard-working Mexican immigrant parents and the first in my family to attend college. This fall, I will be a rising junior at the University of Denver. I plan to double major in economics and criminology with a minor in Spanish.
Both my parents left their small rural hometown in their early teens to flee poverty and unsafety. Leaving behind their family, with no knowledge of English nor an understanding of the cultural dynamics, they had a dream for my siblings and me to have a better life. I have been provided a different side of the coin and am grateful they have worked so hard to set a foundation for me to succeed. Now that they have provided me with my belt, I pick up as many tools as possible and continue to do so by leveraging every opportunity. My ultimate goal is to attend law school and become a lawyer. I anticipate practicing immigration, civil, or debt law.
Outside of my career aspirations, I enjoy participating in clubs or organizations that help leverage underrepresented or under-resourced students' education in preparation for the professional world. For that reason, I chose to participate in Access Opportunity, the Association for Latino Professional For America (ALPFA), and Platinum Z Club. In addition to helping students, they focus on volunteering, community engagement, and advocacy. In my leisure time, I enjoy long-distance running and spending quality time with my family and friends.
AO: Are there any ways in your life or educational journey that you feel like a trailblazer?
Paola: Trailblazing isn't only a role I hold within my own family, but also within my Boulder community. My four years at Boulder High set the foundation for my college education, but they were also quite challenging. I didn't feel Mexican or White enough.
In order to excel academically, I participated in Advanced Placement (AP) and advanced courses. While the school was not racially diverse, the courses I was participating in had even less representation. The first time I witnessed it was during my sophomore year advanced language arts class. I vividly remember walking in and seeing no one that looked like me. There was not one other person of color, and I couldn't relate to or connect with my peers. Our experiences were so different. My peers spent their summer abroad hopping through Europe, whereas I was most often home babysitting my younger siblings and spending time working with my parents. I was a black sheep, and that was very visible. Being in an environment where I was so isolated and unable to connect with my peers made it challenging to just focus on academics.
However, despite the uneasy social environment, my family and support systems encouraged me to move forward. My great grandfather told me as a young child, "Muchachita la clave para una vida mejor es la educación," which translates to, "My little girl, the key to a better life is through education." Despite the obstacles, I knew that I needed to move forward excelling in my coursework. My education would provide me with a better life. What that implied was not living paycheck to paycheck, enduring physically demanding jobs, and removing the uncertainty about being able to have a job.
I yearned to see someone in my community who looked like me, a role model I could relate to. Access Opportunity provided me with role models and peers who shared my experience. They came from disadvantaged backgrounds and still found a way to thrive—just as a beautiful rose has the potential to bloom through a cement crack.
AO: How would you describe the first-generation/low-income (FGLI) experience based on what you have seen & felt?
Paola: "Ya levantate mija", my dad said. I was struggling to sit upright and the reality was that I wasn't fully ready to get out of bed. I sat on the edge of my bed just for a moment, my legs dangling and my upper body weak as a noodle. I sat contemplating whether or not I should go back to bed. "It's four forty-five in the morning. Do I want to be up this early?" I thought. But I had agreed to go to work with my parents.
With my eyes still closed, I thought about my father's hands. They are thick-skinned like the soles of his feet. Underneath his nails rested dirt. He has cuts and an improperly healed blister. Just as the trees in my town transition from green to yellow, orange, and red, my father's hair is in the process of reaching full autumn at the age of forty-four. I thought of his face, which had carved valleys and rivers creating an inner outline. Not only did my father's image appear, but my mother's too, two deep shadows underneath her eyes.
That three-day weekend, I was presented with a glimpse of what my parents did every day. My parents sacrificed their dreams in the hope of me having a better life - an incredibly unselfish thing to do.
Being the first in my family to attend a four-year college carried many unspoken codes. I was unaware of how to set a schedule, how many hours to study, and how many hidden principles were embedded under the surface. Often, I felt alone and isolated. As much as I wanted to tell them about my struggles, I held back because I knew that they wouldn't be able to understand and may have felt worried for me. Everything was new to me, and I quickly learned I needed to change. Being a first-generation student forced me to seek discomfort, seek help rapidly, and persevere no matter what. I saw my mother's face through Maria, the cook in the dining hall. I saw my father in Jose, the man who cleaned my dorm room floor. Every day, I was reminded of my urgent need to keep going, and facing demanding academic challenges led me to grow thick skin just as the soles of my father's feet.
AO: What does it mean to you to be a part of the AO family?
Paola: For a very long time, I didn't fit. I wasn't enough of this and enough of that. The values I held dear to me—higher education and a strong work ethic—were juxtaposed with my race within my community. Not because my peers choose not to value these things, but instead because, just like me, many of my peers and their parents were trying to survive. I was fortunate enough to have strong-willed adults in my life. My great-grandfather was kind enough to share his life-long wisdom with me. Or my mother who while she didn't finish college in Mexico, saw the value of completing education. My father, who from the age of fourteen, has worked physically demanding full-time jobs. But because I was fortunate enough to have these adults in my life, I was addressed as the girl who "never went out" or "always focused on school."
When I first met my peers at AO during my sophomore year in high school, I finally felt like I had found my community—a place where I was enough. I found peers who understood my challenges and were seeking to obtain the same things to have a better life outcome. Outside of my peers, having staff who also understood me and were empathetic to my situation allowed me to be transparent and move forward to achieving my goals.
AO family is truthfully the right word. It's a group of people who are supportive, understanding, and encouraging. AO has served as a constant support for the past five years. From the college search to SAT prep, guidance through the college application process, and navigating financial aid awards or appeal letters, AO has been there for me through it all. I know that as I wrap up my college journey, they will continue to be there.
Pursuing higher education and my college journey thus far, I am sure that I wouldn't have had this positive outcome without AO. I wholeheartedly believe in AO and their mission. I have experienced it in my personal life and through my brother, who is also part of AO and a younger cohort. For that reason, not only am I grateful for their support, but I am happy to continue being involved and supportive of AO's mission. In the past, I've served as a peer mentor and am now an AO ambassador. AO family is an organization of reciprocation. I find it so easy to continue being involved and supportive because of the positive effect they've had on my life.
AO: How did you feel when you first got accepted into Access Opportunity?
Paola: Getting into Access Opportunity has been one of the most memorable events in my life. For a very long time, one of my life goals has been to graduate college. I was doing my best to excel in my classes and be involved in organizations I resonated with. I was doing everything I thought was needed to prepare myself; however, the technical aspect was still left in the blue.
I learned about Access Opportunity when Caroline, a previous AO staff member, spoke in my Advanced Via Individual Determination (AVID) class. I was thrilled to learn that there was a program that could guide me and, ultimately, help me get into college. I eagerly filled out the application and was thrilled to know I was selected for an interview.
When the day of the interview arrived, I got a permission slip and was called down from my AVID class. I walked into the administration office and was directed to a small meeting room. There, I was welcomed by Natalee and Yuri. I left the interview hopeful and reassured myself that I had tried my best.
Every day that passed seemed so long. After what seemed like an eternity, but truthfully, only a couple of days, I received an email informing me I was selected. At that moment, I felt euphoria. My smile extended as far as my face could tolerate. Later, my cheeks began to hurt. I remember shouting out the news immediately. I began jumping with joy and my mother, who was closest in proximity to me, embraced me in a hug.
I knew that if I continued executing as strongly as I was, AO would provide light to the ambiguity that I felt. From that moment on, I knew for a fact that I would be attending college.
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