Soledad en masa

The Los Angeles Weekly’s new issue has a story on the politics of Cudahy, linking the Mexican Mafia with Cudahy City Manager George Pérez, alleged political boss of Cudahy. It provides a peek into Southeast Los Angeles politics, which can best be described by a recall election in South Gate in 2003 that led to Albert Robles’ conviction and sentencing to ten years in federal prison.

In an unrelated topic, I found an interactive feature on the Mara Salvatrucha on the Los Angeles Times’ site. I had stumbled across it before, but did not see it all.

I received an email from the Roberston Scholars Program, a scholarship open only to those who applied to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Duke University.

In the email, they explain that only 150 semi-finalists were chosen (I am one of them) to be interviewed for the scholarship, that I will be interviewed by phone in an upcoming weekend, that the scholarship is a full ride, including tuition, a laptop and summer funding for community service, research and travel in the United States and abroad; it is valued at over $150,000 over four years.

The third-to-last paragraph surprised me:

Your selection as a semi-finalist for the Robertson Scholars Program means, of course, that you have been accepted to Duke University, provided that you maintain high standards of academic performance and personal behavior.

Wow, I was accepted to Duke University.

I will go to college this fall, no matter the cost. The following are the schools I applied to:

1. UC San Diego
2. UC Santa Barbara
3. UCLA
4. UC Berkeley
5. Stanford University
6. Columbia University
7. Amherst College
8. Duke University
9. Harvard University
10. Princeton University
11. Yale University

Many have stared at me when I tell them I applied to eleven schools, but to be honest, it’s not that hard. Many colleges ask similar questions, so I just reworked a few essays and submitted. I made sure to go over each essay twice before I hit submit. If only other students were not so complacent after applying to the UCs and CSUs…

I already heard back from Stanford University, and I was accepted. It became my top choice about a month before the application deadline of December 15th. As I researched it more and more, I realized that it was probably the school for me.

I can’t wait to hear from some of the other schools. I want to be rejected by, at most, four schools to make it easier for me to choose which school to attend, but I am very inclined to attend Stanford University.

My name is Diego Rentería and I am a student, not only of a school, but of the world. I am currently seventeen-years-old and I am a musician; I play the guitar in Mariachi Espuela de Plata, a mariachi group I co-founded with eleven other mariachi musicians and fellow eighth graders to continue playing the music we love and take it to many people across the Los Angeles area. My first language is Spanish, and, as you can see, I freely use it in my life.

What I hope to accomplish here is to express myself freely. Posts will be sporadic, but I hope you keep in touch and visit often.