Meet Helen, a rising sophomore majoring in biology at a selective university on the East Coast. Helen is a first-generation Hispanic student who was born in the U.S. but grew up in a mixed-status family. After she graduates in 2028, she wants to attend medical school, but she’s concerned about the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies, which could impact her family and friends. Helen talked about her love for biology and medicine, why she chose her university, the challenges she’s faced, and what schools can do to support students like her.

On what drew her to biology & the pre-med track

I loved pretending to be a doctor and taking care of people when I was young. Also, my mom has asthma. I would see her struggling, and I’d feel bad because I knew that she couldn’t get the right care, because she’s undocumented. That was always in the back of my mind, and I remember thinking, Someday, I’ll become a doctor, so I can help her. Then, in my freshman year of high school, I took my first biology class, and I fell in love with biology. I kind of liked school and getting good grades and seeing my hard work pay off, but I was really going to school because I had to. Biology was the first class that really excited me. I remember the teacher saying to the class, If you want to earn extra credit, I’ll post some opportunities. And I didn’t need the extra credit, but I wanted to do it because it just seemed so fun.

That’s when I knew I wanted to study biology. I remember watching YouTube videos about surgeries and, for a while, wanting to be a paramedic. Then, in my sophomore year, I got an opportunity to volunteer at a hospital — first in the gift shop and then in patient care, where I admitted and discharged patients and took them to their rooms and to the parking lot in a wheelchair — and that’s when I got a sense of the medical environment and realized that I want to work with people. Hospitals can seem like sad places, because people go there for a reason. But I remember working in the gift shop and seeing family members come in, and they seemed so happy. They would tell me they were going to visit their nephews or their new grandchild or grandchildren.

Then I got an opportunity to see a panel of doctors that worked there, and I got to go to the room where the medical students practice on mannequins. And there was one mannequin of a woman going into labor, and I remember an assistant asking for volunteers. “Does anybody want to try?” It was a simulation of a mother giving birth. I said, “Let me try.” I don’t know if the assistant was trying to hype me up because I was in high school, but she was like, “You did it better than some of my medical students,” and after that, I got into birth and the reproductive system and got interested in becoming an OBGYN.

On why she chose her college

I applied to a highly selective university and got waitlisted by the College of Arts and Sciences. But they gave me an opportunity to do a program at a satellite campus for a year and then transfer to the flagship campus, so I’m transferring in the fall. I had to maintain a 3.0 GPA and complete some required classes to be able to transfer. But I chose this university, not only because it’s one of the best, but also for financial reasons. I learned from my high school college and career counselor that it offers a lot of need-based aid.

On the guidance & support she received during the college application process

I was lucky to find a college-access program. They help first-generation students apply and transfer to college. They helped me write my personal essay for my applications and gave me advice. I credit them a lot, because as a first-generation student, I had no idea what I was doing. The program really was three programs. The first focused on how to write your resume, what the FAFSA is, and interviewing tips. They also gave me a list of scholarships that I could apply for. In the second, which was in senior year of high school, they helped with the whole application process. They helped us write our personal essays and open a Common App account. Then there’s the third, where they helped us transition to college and gave us a mentor, advice, and moral support. In my junior year, that same program gave me a scholarship, and the application questions for that scholarship were basically the same ones for the personal essays. So, by applying for that scholarship, I had already written my personal essay. Also, in my senior year, I met a teacher who helped me with the process. I told her I wanted to be pre-med. She said her son was finishing his pre-med and she offered to lend me a hand. I sent her my personal essay, just to refine it. Everything else, I did on my own, because my parents, they don’t know. They didn’t get to go to high school or college.

On paying for college

The summer before my freshman year was one of the most stressful summers I’ve ever had. Filling out the new FAFSA wasn’t too hard, but there was a problem with the last part where my parents had to sign, and we were having a hard time fixing it. That delayed everything. The issue was they were not sending the email permission for my parents to sign. Every day, we’d call the FAFSA people, and they would be busy, or we’d call them, but they didn’t have any answers, until, finally, one of the advisers at the college-access program helped fix it.

I had no idea how I was going to cover college until two weeks before I started, which was when I finally got my financial aid packet. I was hoping the FAFSA would help a little more, because my parents’ income is not a lot, but I ended up owing about $4,000. The question was, how was I going to pay that $4,000? Because my parents didn’t have extra money to help me and they already had too much on their plate. The first month, my mom helped me. I also got a work-study, and by the second month, had saved up enough to cover the next couple of months. So, the first semester was covered, and then to cover the second semester, we sold my car. Luckily, I didn’t have to get any loans. For this coming year, I’m a little scared, because of the whole Trump situation, but I did get financial aid from the FAFSA, and I’m hoping the university gives me something.

I’m still waiting, but the university has a website where you can estimate, based on your parents’ income, what you’ll have to pay. Also, the FAFSA website helps you calculate how much you might need to pay. So, I’m leaning on that number right now. I have a paid internship with the college-access program, and I also have a part-time job, so I’m saving up.

On the college transition

Honestly, it wasn’t too hard a transition for me, only because, from a young age, I always had to do my own things. I had to translate, fill out forms, help my mom make appointments, and help her with my younger sisters, that kind of stuff. So, I’d already developed some independence and skills that I needed for college. I only went to my family if I needed them to sign something. But everything else, I’ve always figured out on my own. The hardest part was not being near my family, because the satellite campus was six hours away. I couldn’t go to my parents if I felt bad about a grade and I wasn’t there to help with my sisters.

I also didn’t meet a lot of Hispanics at the satellite campus, which is a very small school. It’s smaller than my high school and predominantly white. I was like the only one, so I didn’t have somebody like me to relate to. But I did have friends from other demographics who, in some ways, experienced the same things as me, with like financial help and navigating that and having immigrant parents.

On the political climate & the Trump administration’s attacks on free speech & immigrants

There was nothing that directly affected me at school, but now that I’m transferring, I’m a little scared of the unknown and what’s going to happen with like freedom of speech and stuff like that. Will I be able to express my opinions? Because it’s a bigger school, and I know that there’s student visa holders that got deported. I’m a citizen, but I’m worried about being seen as different because I’m Hispanic. When I go to places, I sometimes feel not at ease, because I’m worried that some people think that, because I’m Hispanic, Oh, she’s illegal.

I also fear for my family, because they’re not all here legally. And not just that, a lot of the people I know don’t have the right documents. I’m scared for them. ICE came to the house of somebody close to me and tried to find him. He was very lucky to not have been there, but it’s scary to know how close they were.

On the challenges she faced & how schools can better support students like her

I’d say there should be more programs that support students and advise them on the college application process. Because at my school, there wasn’t a program. I just came across the college-access program. But if it wasn’t for that, I don’t know what would’ve happened.

I also feel like I was doing advanced classes in high school only because I was surrounded by students that were at the top of their class. My friends were into school and taking advanced classes. And I didn’t want to seem different. That was why I did advanced classes. I also did the IB diploma, but, honestly, I didn’t always fully know what I was doing.

There should be supports that make all students feel like they have potential. Because early on, I wanted to do advanced classes but didn’t think I had the potential to do it.

In elementary school, I had to take ESOL classes and needed extra help learning to read and write, and that really developed into not feeling like I had the potential to challenge myself. I remember feeling for a long time like I didn’t belong and like I wasn’t smart enough, because I was always having to take extra classes.

I was born in the United States. But my mom is from Honduras and my dad is from El Salvador, so I was born into a family that, in that time, didn’t know any English. My mom is still learning English. So, my first language was Spanish. And I remember that in kindergarten I understood what people were saying, but I didn’t know how to speak English yet.

My freshman year, I was scared even to go to high school, because I was told in middle school, that if I didn’t pass my English SOLs — because I’d failed all of them — they’d have to give me an extra English or language arts class. I tried my hardest that sixth grade year, and I passed by like five points. But if I’d done five points worse, I would have failed, so just having that support throughout elementary, middle, and high school, too, would be nice.

On impostor syndrome

In my sophomore year of high school, I moved to a different school, and that’s where I started feeling pressure to do advanced classes. That year, I did a regular English class, and it was easy for me, but I didn’t know if that was because of my teacher, who was really nice. Then it came time to decide if I wanted to do the IB Diploma or just continue doing regular classes. And, again, the main reason I decided to do IB was because I didn’t want to be different. That high school was competitive, and a lot of students there were smart, so I felt pressure to do well. And this was good, because I still had imposter syndrome. I remember one time I was talking to my friends, and I said, “I’m not really smart. I just work hard and put a lot of effort into my work.” My teacher was eavesdropping, and she said, “No, you are smart.” Having that encouragement and validation from a teacher was important.

On what’s next

This summer I’m working in the pediatric section of the hospital, so I’m excited about that. I’m transferring to my university’s main campus this fall, which will be my sophomore year. After I graduate in 2028, my dream is to go to medical school and become an OBGYN. I may need to take a gap year to prepare and save money, because medical school is expensive. I’m going to have to take out a loan, but I know some medical schools offer free tuition. Obviously, those are competitive, but we’ll see.

Series: Getting To & Through College