When my family moved from Puerto Rico to Jacksonville, we didn’t have many of the things most American families take for granted. My mother struggled to make ends meet in a factory job. We didn’t have a car. I didn’t even know English.

Much has changed in my life since coming here at age nine. I credit the University of North Florida with making the American dream accessible to my family and me.

After learning English, I graduated from the Frank H. Peterson Academies of Technology in Jacksonville and attended Florida State College at Jacksonville. I have always been good in math, having won a competition in high school. When I enrolled in UNF, I knew I wanted to pursue a course of study that combined my love of math with my desire to learn more about finance.

Coming from Jacksonville’s Hispanic community, I was aware of many other families who were struggling with their finances. They didn’t have a basic understanding of how to invest their limited funds or plan for such things as buying a home or retiring. When I entered UNF’s Accounting and Financial Services program in the Coggin College of Business, it was part of my long-term goal to be able to help those families with financial management.

My ability to meet that goal started with my transformation at UNF, which has been possible because of a number of exciting opportunities I’ve been given.

Last year, I became a member of the Osprey Financial Group. OFG is a student-managed investment group using funds provided by the UNF Foundation. My assignment has been to research the Latin American region and two sectors of the U.S. economy. In addition to learning how to make money grow through stock market investing, the experience has taught me the importance of sticking by your convictions. You have to be willing to have the stomach to stay with certain stocks you have researched even when they may decline initially with the overall market.

My participation in OFG also allowed me to take part of the Global Investment Research Challenge in which we compete against other university investment teams from across the country. That experience allowed me to see first-hand how well UNF students stack up against the best student investors in the country.

I’ve also participated in SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise). My project was to teach college students about personal finance. I was responsible for presenting workshops to freshmen and seniors so they could learn more about many aspects of financial planning.

Student internships have given me an opportunity to take my classroom experience into the real world. At CSX, I was an intern in car accounting which gave me a glimpse into the very complex way in which railroads compensate owners of railroad cars. I was allowed to develop a program to streamline that accounting system and save many hours of staff time.

At Deloitte & Touche, I interned in external audit services where I had an opportunity to travel and learn more about the best practices of many successful companies. I was also honored to be selected to attend the Deloitte & Touche National Leadership Conference in Arizona, the first such UNF student to be so honored.

This wonderful experience has prompted me to accept an offer of full-time employment at Deloitte & Touche when I graduate. The company has a big spot in my heart because it marks my coming of age as a true professional.

Because of my UNF experience, I’m doing things I never thought possible. As the first in my family to graduate from college, I’m proud I’ve been able to live up to my mother’s aspirations for a better life for her children in America. I also hope to serve as a role model for my younger brother and sister. And the best part is because of scholarships, I’ve been able to get a top-notch education without taking out any loans. UNF is truly making a dream come true for me.