Education: An Opportunity Worth Fighting For

     “Son, remember, out of all the things in the world, an education can never be taken from you. What you learn in school will follow you for the rest of your life”. This was something that my mom would constantly remind me and siblings throughout our childhood. Growing up I would always plead my mother to tell me the story of her life in Vietnam as she would tuck me into bed with Mr.Ruffles my favorite teddy bear in hand. My mother, the bravest and most respectable person I knew, had escaped Vietnam at the age of 15 amidst the liberation of Saigon. Every morning, she walked two miles in secrete to her all-girls school despite the communist ban on education. Her parents were modest business owners who had received no more than a middle school education. This went on for three months until they were forced to flee Vietnam and seek refuge in America. After two failed attempts to escape, my mother’s family along with 95 others were able to seek refuge in Thailand. When she and her family had made it to America, she enrolled at Saddleback Community College despite not being able to speak fluent English. After two years of dedication and support from the ELS department, she was able to transfer to the prestigious Stanford University. I loved her and her story.

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     She inspired me to discover my passions through education and to think for myself. I was fortunate to have a mother so caring and inspiring to have fought for her education so that she could raise her children with the opportunities and resources to become educated. To become educated means being able to think for yourself. While an education earned through school, my mother showed me that an education can also be gained through literature, exploring and learning from worlds bound in books. Soon, I found my calling in mathematics, the numerous applications to real-life were endless and would allow me to learn how the world worked. Suddenly, the possibilities became limitless as I stuck my nose into every math and physics book I could get my hands on at our local library.

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     Now, at Saddleback I aspire to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering and make my mark in the world, furthering the advancement of artificial intelligence in automobiles to increase the safety of autonomous driving. I am constantly motivated by the blood, sweat and tears that my beloved mother shed to give me everything I have today to grant me the privilege of education that she had fought for in Vietnam. Hopefully, in the near

future, I am able to forge my own path as she once did at her alma mater, Stanford University.