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My name is Ashley Sonoda. I am completing
my third year at Windward Community College. I have been apart of TRiO SSS for
two of those three years.
I am ten years old. I
look around at my unemployed father sitting and drinking with his friends. I
wait for my mom to walk through the door, coming home from her nine to five job
as a travel agent. She’s tired, irritated, and stressed about how she’ll support
my older sister and I. I am young, but this is when I make the decision that
this is not how I want my life to be. Now I am twenty. After making that decision
ten years ago I strive every day to make my dreams come true and I won’t let
anything stand in my way. My biological father left our family years ago but
now I have a new dad, a real dad. He helped me realize what I need to do and
the steps I need to take in order to achieve my goals. Looking back to my
childhood I stand by my decision. I know I want a better life for myself.
My interest in health
and science started in high school, where I grew fascinated about the science
behind the human body. When you’re in high school the question you always get asked
is “what do you want to be?” I was fourteen and I knew I needed to start
thinking about my career- the career that will help me live a successful and
stable life. My mom and dad started talking about some careers that went along
with my interests and something that stood out to me was pharmacy. I started
volunteering at Waimanalo Pharmacy Inc. when I was fifteen. After starting
there I realized that this is what I could see myself doing for the rest of my
life. I saw the respect that customers gave my boss and how much they relied on
him to understand the importance of their medication.
I am completing my
junior year at Windward Community College. I will be receiving my Associates in
Arts degree at the end of my Spring 2013 semester. I will be transferring to
the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to attain my Bachelors in Biology at the
start of Fall 2013. My ultimate goal is to go to the University of Hilo’s
school of pharmacy where I would get my pharmacy degree. People always seem to
point out the negatives to my future plan. For example; the amount of schooling
needed or how competitive and challenging the field is, but I truly believe
that I have the persistence and motivation needed to overcome every obstacle
that comes my way. This past summer I got nationally certified as a pharmacy
technician. I took the responsibility to take it upon myself to study for the
exam on my own. By borrowing books, working closely with the pharmacist and
other technicians at my job to learn everything I can to better prepare myself.
I wanted to become certified not to prove to other people what I’m capable of,
but to prove to myself that whatever I decide I want to do, I can do it.
I understand that
getting straight A’s isn’t the most important thing. And I’m not a straight A
student. But I give my all and I know that the grade I get is the best that I could
possibly get. I was honored to get an email asking to join the Phi Theta Kappa
Honor Society. It assured me that all my hard work is paying off.
After I go to pharmacy school
I would like to return to the windward side of Oahu and work. I work closely
with the Hawaiian population at Waimanalo Pharmacy Inc., and I also volunteer
at the Waimanalo Health Center. I am able to see the needs of the people at the
health center as well as at the pharmacy. With exposure to clients in the
Waimanalo and Kāne‘ohe/Kahalu‘u community I understand the wellbeing of the
Hawaiian people. In Waimanalo the three leading diseases are diabetes, high
blood pressure, and asthma. I want to make sure that the Hawaiian community is
fully educated about their disease prevention and healthy options. I want the
Hawaiian community to be complacent about coming to their pharmacist and
getting advice and answers to any questions they seek.
I am the first person in my family to
attend college. After graduation more schooling just was not in the picture for
any of my other family members. They all seemed to ‘settle’ for what they could
get -taking any job that came their way. But I didn’t want to ‘settle,’ I wanted
to strive for what I knew I was capable of achieving. My parents and family
give me all the love and support that they have to offer but sometimes it may
not be enough. I know my parents will struggle financially to support my career
choice. Since I am first generation bound they weren’t prepared to have a
college student with such high expectations. My mom set aside money for me but
unfortunately my biological father took his baby girls money to get his ‘fix.’
TRiO has given me grant aid of $1000 for 2 semesters. That money has helped me
pay for my tuition that my parents otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay for. TRiO
has provided me with my own tutors for classes that I needed help with. On my
own, I would be able to pay for a private tutor but TRiO helped me with that.
If not for the TRiO tutors I wouldn’t be able to maintain my 3.88 GPA. TRiO
hasn’t only supported me financially. When I need a place to study or a
computer/printer to use I can always go there. Having those resources helps me
a lot. TRiO offers many programs and opportunities to their students. I always
get heads up on scholarships that are coming out, events on campus, and
volunteer opportunities.
Reaching my goals is very important to me.
I didn’t give much thought to furthering my education because I was surrounded
by people who didn’t go to college. Many of my younger cousins look up to me
for all I achieved, and I hope one day I will get there. I want to take care of
my family when they are old, just like they always took care of me. I also want
to show everyone that I can support myself and hopefully one day other kids
will have the same dreams and motivations that I do.
I can see myself at twenty-six years old
walking across the stage shaking my professors’ hands and accepting my degree
for pharmacy. I see my entire family waiting with lei for me, still supporting
me as they did when I was nineteen. I look around and think to myself, this is
how I want my life to be.
Ashley Sonoda
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