But is she an American citizen?
Honors College Student Strives to Create Positive Change
Maria Parra-Sandoval didn’t take it lightly when her mother told her at the age of six that she and her family were leaving their small Mexican village to live in the most powerful and privileged country in the world.
“I knew it must be very important,” she recalls, remembering their month-long journey across the Mexican-American border.
She understood quickly that to succeed in this country as an immigrant wouldn’t come easy. So, in third grade she bought her first dictionary and resolved to learn English.
“It was hard adjusting to a second language,” said Parra-Sandoval. “I knew that I would have to work twice as hard.”
She took that lesson to heart and is still working twice as hard – at everything she does.
Along with her siblings, she was the first in her family to get a high school diploma, graduating third in her class at Valley High School with a 4.6 GPA.
Her success in high-school paved the way for several private and public college scholarships sending her off to UNLV as a student in the privileged Honors College. Today, she is one of about 700 students who participate in this prestigious program and is one of the 1,700 students who rely on private scholarship support from UNLV each year.
“Scholarships provide financial relief to students who need it – if they apply they have decided that they can do it,” she said.
In February 2005, Parra-Sandoval was one of 50 students selected nationally to attend the Public Policy and Leadership Conference at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. This spring, she will serve as the political communications intern for Sen. Harry Reid in our nation’s capitol.
Her drive and dedication to succeed for herself and for her family is matched by her strong desire to create positive change through community service.
“A cause is fought in a way that you show others through actions,” she says.
And so, staying true to her word, Parra-Sandoval helped establish Kappa Delta Chi, the first Latina Sorority in the state of Nevada whose main emphasis is to help the local Latina community.
Parra-Sandoval is an immigrant on a lifelong quest to become a U.S. citizen, a dream that will soon become a reality. Although the process has been a long one, the experience has piqued her interest in our country’s legal system and influenced her career choice.
Dreams beyond UNLV include both a law degree and a master’s in public policy from Harvard so that she can someday practice immigration law.
“My parents have always said that I am the American dream, but I believe that above that, I am their dream come true.”