Ingrid Perez grew up believing the dismal statistics of the fate of a young Hispanic woman from a low-income family with no role model of a person in her family going to college.  Neither of her parents had finished high school.  She believed she was “never set to succeed in school”, yet within the walls of a classroom is where she felt most at home.  As she entered high school and her love for math and economics grew, she made a commitment to herself that the barriers and circumstances of her life were not going to define her.  She realized that the only real obstacle before her was “fear… fear of the unknown…fear of uncertainty”.  With this knowledge she set her goals on being the first in her family to attend a four-year college.  She wanted to go away to school, even though her family encouraged her to remain close to the safety of her home.  

Conquering her fears and defying the statistics, Ingrid will be studying economics at Cal Poly Pomona.  She is looking forward to exploring all career options from law to finance to working for the Department of Education, and immersing herself in college life.  She wants to take a yoga class, meet new friends, and make life choices that are her own.

“Opening my mind to what seemed like the impossible allowed me to develop a vision of success… Leaving my mind vulnerable to change was one of the most difficult things I had to do… sense of freedom… welcome growth… The true beauty the L.I.F.T. philosophy… change is imminent when you leave your mind open… removing the chains of fear and giving you a sense of your true self.”