Hello my full name is Grecia Elisama Mata. I have lived in El Paso all my life. I was born on March 12, 1991. I was first born and the only girl which made me get more spoiled than my brother. I only have a younger brother, Aaron who is 16 years old. I wish I could of had more siblings because sometimes when my brother is not there its like if I was the only child. My mother has always given everything and worked to give us the best. My father has always been very supportive in everything that we do. I look up to my parents and as I grow up I want to be like them.

I went to Canutillo Elementary, then to Canutillo Middle School, and finally graduated from Canutillo High School in 2009. In high school I was never in sports although I was Major Sports Trainer and that was really cool because while I cared for the athletes I would also watch the games. I always had fun with the friends I made there especially during football season. I would keep my grades up to be eligible to go to the games. During my high school career I was in a class called AVID which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The purpose of this class was to be successful and prepare for college. I will never forget what I learned there because all was very helpful especially for being first generation to attend college. After four years of the class and the teacher being together we became like a family. My AVID teacher helped me so much because she was very supportive and I could rely on her since I had no one else to guide me through the process of getting to college.

I am currently a freshman student at the University of Texas at El Paso. I am looking forward to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Bilingual Elementary Education since I read, speak, and write in both English and Spanish. I aspire to teach Kindergarten or First grade because I have always loved kids. I am a very patient and loving with all kids so that is why I want to be a teacher. At my church I am sometimes the Sunday School teacher and I love it, the kids are so sweet and obedient to what I say. Ever since I was a little girl I would play school with my cousins and my brother and of course I was always the teacher since I was the oldest. I would always dream of having my own classroom and to teach kids.

The topic I chose was Undocumented Immigration because my relatives have been through this at some point. My relatives came to the United States about 30 years ago from Mexico to give future generations a better future and education. I am really thankful that my family decided to come to the U.S. because I think my life would be really different if I lived in Mexico. My family members did not attend college, a few were lucky to even graduate from high school. My grandparents and my mother did not even finish elementary school. My father did not go to high school but he managed to get his GED which is equivalent to a high school diploma. From my family I was first generation to graduate from high school and will be from college.