I grew up in a very low-income neighborhood in the Bronx, NY. The thought of going off to earn a degree at a post-secondary institution hardly crossed my mind. I didn't think I could handle the academic rigors of college. Luckily, I had several people who believed in me, who saw in me something that I didn't even know existed. It is because of their push that I received the Posse Scholarship, a full tuition scholarship, for Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Dickinson is a private, liberal arts institution that shaped me into the person that I am today. It freed me of my preconceptions and unlocked my intellectual and academic growth, a growth that will now never cease.

 That is why I am an adviser with NCAC. There are thousands of students out there that simply need someone to believe in them and give them a helping hand. I will never forget the smiling student that comes into my office to tell me that they have just been accepted into the college of their dreams. That kind of joy just can't be found anywhere else.