Échale Ganas - Ivan Diaz
My mother dropped out of school in the 3rd grade. At that age most kids are thinking about recess and whether to choose chocolate milk or regular milk from the
breakfast cart. She, on the other hand, was already working full time to help her family. My mother grew up in a small town called Valadezes, Mexico. Growing up in poverty my mother put her entire future and most importantly her education on the line to help her family. I have accomplished many things that my mother never had the opportunity to do herself, and what she probably doesn’t know, is that I owe it all to her.
“Echale ganas mijo”! Which means, give it all you have son. Those words came out of my mothers’ mouth a million times when I was growing up. So many times I already knew when she was going to say it. To this day when I leave my parents house to return to UNC she says “echale ganas mijo; give it all you have son.”
When I struggled in math and my mother couldn’t help me because of her 3rd grade education, it was always, “echale ganas”. So I did what she said and I never gave up because of her unwavering support of everything I did.
When I first came to UNC, I was that hesitant kid who worried and stressed out about everything from choosing classes to choosing a major; from finding a work study job to deciding what I would do after graduation. I even wondered if I was capable of doing this college thing. However, with the support of many mentors I was capable of achieving my goals.
As I look back over these four years, I realize that I have accomplished more than what I could have ever imagined. I have become a dedicated student, a friend, a boyfriend, a mentor to youth who are thinking about higher education, a founding father of a Latino based fraternity, and, most importantly, an educated Latino.
At the end of the school year when I walk across the stage to receive my diploma, I will proudly dedicate my success as a college student to my mother whose encouraging words, “echale ganas mijo”, gave me the confidence to go after my dream of graduating from college.