Arnoldo Quintanilla '16 Recruiting Profile

Arnoldo Quintanilla  
Personal statement #1
Seeing my father for a few hours on Sunday is depressing in many ways for me and my family. He works 2 jobs, both of them 6 out of 7 days a week because his family did not support him and could not pay for him to go to college. My dad is indeed an intelligent and hard working man, however his parents could not afford college. My parents decided to move to this country because they knew they could find more job opportunities and live a better life here. This makes me realize that I have a unique chance of getting to choose a career that I want to pursue. Unlike my dad I can say that I have lived a simple life with nothing holding me back.  
Going through these hard times with my family have motivated me to work harder in school and to set high goals for myself in the future. One of the hardest and most stressful times of my life was when both of my parents lost theirs jobs, almost one after the other. We had to move in with my uncle for more than a month because we could not afford to pay the rent. During this time my family did not own a car, and there were several occasions where I had to walk several miles home after school, unless my uncle was able to pick my brother and I up, it was almost the same routine everyday. Although I feel that my family has always provided everything that I need such as a home, school, clothes, and food. I do not wish to go through the same struggles as my parents have over the years. I have an opportunity that my parents and most of my family wish they would have had when they were young, and I would like to take advantage of it and attend a four year university and major in something related to business or engineering.                                                                          335 words
Personal Statement #2  
For as long as I can remember I've always struggled in school because of my ADD. Howeever by putting in the extra work, time and effort, I have been able to somewhat overcome my struggles. Although my grades through out high school are not great, I have put in the work so that I perform to my potential on tests and as a result I have learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to be successful. With help from my teachers and support from my parents, I have improved and I still have room to improve and much more to learn.  
Joining sports team in high school was one of the best choices I ever made. I have made friends that will last a very long time and I have learned to work with others. In cross country I enjoy helping the underclassmen with their homework because I feel like I learn more when I teach someone a subject that I am familiar with. There have also been times when I needed help. For example my junior year I went from having a C in physics to an A second semester after getting some help from my coaches and team mates. I also discovered a talent when I joined track. I found out that I had natural speed and I had potential to compete at the college level