Audrey Vega '24 Recruiting Profile

On a busy Friday afternoon in 2022 while I was volunteering at a macrobiotic store, the only thing I wanted to do was go home to rest.  As I was reaching my chair to sit down for a moment I saw an old lady coming into the store, she was from Nicaragua. I remember that I got up off my chair quickly with a tiring  attitude.  She was distraught, and started telling me that her son was in the hospital and she was not able to communicate with him yet.  Then, she asked me for a SIM card for her cellphone,  but she didn't even know how to make a phone call and asked me to help her and I did. So.  I explained to her how to use the phone for making calls and what she needed to do and how. Afterwards, she thanked me and left.  I remember she was there for about an hour and the only thing she needed was a $3 cell phone SIM card.  After I explained everything to her, I saw her feeling much  better.

  After this situation, I realized that as human beings our purpose should be to help and support others, and even in our moments of fatigue or when we think we have nothing to give, someone may need us. I felt like I did something good for her. A week later she passed by the store and she was really happy. She entered the store and thanked me for the little favor I did the other day.  When I saw her smiling and happy it made me happy too, I was happy for her. 

 I see when we grow and experience different situations in life, all situations make us become more wise and mature in how we live our lives. As a teenager  I thought I was not a people person. I thought I could not be patient nor have the ease of speech to communicate with people,  and I was thinking about studying something to get a job where I did not have to deal or talk with people at all. However, that mindset changed after some situations when I helped people.  I understood that helping people fills up my life with joy and satisfaction. Supporting other people and seeing a smile on their faces after helping them, is the best satisfaction in life. This is why I want to be able to study a career related to health sciences.

  Well, I would like to tell you that I am the oldest of 4 siblings, my parents are teachers, my father is a Science teacher and my mother is an English teacher, currently my mom is supporting an Elementary school in Phoenix Arizona where there were not enough teachers. 

  Now, I live with my parents and my 3 siblings, Estefania, Santiago and Joseph.  I grew up as a normal kid, loving to study,  going to school and participating in sports.  Since I was 4 years old I loved to play outside and spend time with my tito Rafael, he is my grandpa. He used to spend time with me fixing things or repairing bicycles, and I remember he always shared with me some small tools to let me fix things. This led me to believe that I can fix anything no matter how hard it seems. My grandpa has been a great and disciplined athlete, when he was young he competed in regional, national and international cycling. He even ran the Tour of France. I see his tenacity and discipline every day even at 69 years old and encourages me to be like him.  And I want to say that all his grandchildren had a bike.  So, I loved to ride my bike every day and I became a very active kid.

  As I grew up I started to have more interest in nature and Science and started participating in institutional, regional and national Science Technological Fairs promoted for the Public Education department in Costa Rica. When I was seven years old I won my first national position  in the National Science Fair,  a demonstration of the magnets and their interesting applications in daily life and transportation. 

  Furthermore, I started to be interested in practicing a specific sport when I was 12. I tried volleyball and fell in love with it.  I played with my regional volleyball team ASOVOL San Carlos until 2022, winning several National Championships with my team. . I love to participate in sports. I could say that I am disciplined and dedicated. Volleyball has tought me a lot, I learnt how to be a team player and to do my best even when I feel like I cannot. I am focused on improving my level as an athlete and getting good grades at school as well. But I also try to have a balance in reaching goals,  understanding and knowing my capability to avoid stress. I think I am a determined person and I  like to be focused on things to achieve my goals.   So, I love to start something and finish it, I prefer to be done instead of procrastinating. 

In the future I would love to be able to be part of the volleyball team of my university.  A short-term goal that I have is to be able to buy my first car to use it for going to work and university. For the future I would like to be economically independent and a productive person. I want to save money for college. After getting a high GPA and my high school diploma I want to continue my studies at the university, a career based on Health Sciences and medicine to be able to help people and make them feel better. I would like to be a person generating a change in society. I do not want to be a common doctor but to be someone that really cares and loves what she does. 

  Moreover, I want to improve my level of English as a second language and also start to learn a new language. About my spiritual life one of my main goals is to be consistent in my faith and keep growing my relationship with God so that I will be able to share with the world about his perfect love, peace, grace and miracles.   

   As an organized person I like to think about my future and visualize things to plan my life, and to be prepared for what is going to come and what my plans would be.  So, after graduation, if I can not go to university right after I finish high school, I think I will get a job to save for college next year, and will take a course to keep studying. However, if I go to university after I graduate I will start a major in health sciences and I could combine my studies with sports, also attending church. So, I will work really hard in everything I do, to get the best grades and to improve myself as an athlete and as a christian person. 

  On the other hand, pursuing higher education abroad has been my dream since I was 15.   I thought about having an ideal college experience. But I have realized that going to college is  not as easy as I thought before.  Two years ago, I started investigating university majors to plan a career path. And  I knew where I was going to study, what major could be according to my interest and skills.  However life changes, due to the decision as a family to go to  support Tuscano elementary, I could not finish my high school at the date planned in Costa Rica, because we moved to the United States.  But  I needed to re-plan my goals and reset my thoughts, because life can change and we should redirect our plans. So I had to pause or delay my diploma because when coming here I needed to do some more credits,  but  it is fine,  I keep studying. And now I finish all my high school credits.  Life changed, but my interests and dreams will come true to become a professional and develop myself as an athlete. I think I will be a good candidate for a team because I understand that everybody on the team is going to be different and that is what is going to take us to the next level, different abilities are needed in a team. I will probably be the shortest player and I can barely block with my fingertips but I have other abilities that are helpful for a team. For me quitting is not an option, I understand my limits but I also know how far my body and mind can go.

  I want to put everything that I am at the service of others. I feel that my heart calls me to do something else for people.  I want to be helpful in this big world.  No matter how hard I work,  I will do my best.  Every event in my life as a kid, a teenager and now as a young adult I think has helped me to become the person I am today.  So, I would like to be able to study a major that will impact others´s lives. I will be able to pursue and achieve a dream, a goal and a purpose of life.  I will learn and take advantage of everything to put in practice in future life and into a world in need. 

I really appreciate your attention to this written paper.