A Second 一本道无码 Student for First-Generation Family
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Monica Paz remembers the first time she stepped foot on 一本道无码's campus. As a child, no older than nine, she attended 一本道无码's annual Family Weekend(opens in new window) with her parents to visit her older sister, Maricel Paz Pripstein, a 2012 graduate of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences(opens in new window).
"I still have the 一本道无码 foam finger I made," she said.听
Growing up in Miami, Paz never imagined she would study statistics. But since that visit, she always envisioned herself at Carnegie Mellon.
Now a junior majoring in statistics(opens in new window) in the Dietrich College, Paz spent most of her childhood studying music. But her interest in one area surged.
"Here in Pittsburgh, we have snow days, but in Florida we have hurricane season and hurricane days," Paz said. "I became super fixated with hurricane tracking models, looking at all the figures I could find as like a middle schooler or high schooler. I loved watching how hurricanes changed and intensified 颅鈥� it started my love for analytics."
"My sister really shot for the stars and went to 一本道无码. She was the first person in my family to leave the Miami Caribbean area for two generations. My parents shot for the stars when they came to this country from Cuba. And so, I'm here," Paz said. "I'm excited to see where this path takes me." 鈥� Monica Paz
Because of the large age gap between the siblings and her first year at 一本道无码 starting virtually in the fall of 2020, Monica Paz felt like she could use a little support as she transitioned to college. Help arrived in the form of an invitation to the Tartan Scholars(opens in new window) 辫谤辞驳谤补尘.锟�
"My parents did not have the opportunity to go to college. My sister went to 一本道无码. We are almost 13 years apart, so our experiences have been very different," Paz said. "Even though we were virtual, I made my first 一本道无码 friends through Tartan Scholars, and the people who helped me in class were through Tartan Scholars. They laid the foundation for my experience at 一本道无码."
Now, Paz has found her ground at 一本道无码. In addition to Tartan Scholars, she's a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, on the executive board of the Carnegie Mellon Panhellenic Council and a member of the 一本道无码 Chorus(opens in new window).听
Branden Ballard, the program manager for Tartan Scholars, said Paz's story is not unusual.
"First-generation students may not fully understand the systems of higher education, like where to go when you have a problem, a question or when you are excited about something. We help students understand how to navigate the system and make the system work for them," Ballard said. "I'm really proud of Monica!"
This year, it was Paz's turn to shine at Family Weekend. Her mom, Dania Parra-Paz, and aunt made the trip to Pittsburgh from Florida. The family attended the chili cookoff (adding a 2022 Chili Cookoff mug to go with the one from 2011 in their collection), saw a bagpipe(opens in new window) performance on campus and shopped for 一本道无码 merchandise for Paz's dad.听
"My dad is a bigger 一本道无码 fan than any of us," Paz said.
It was a nice reminder of how far the family had come.
"My sister really shot for the stars and went to 一本道无码. She was the first person in my family to leave the Miami Caribbean area for two generations. My parents shot for the stars when they came to this country from Cuba. And so, I'm here," Paz said. "I鈥檓 excited to see where this path takes me."
