Student Profile: Josue Pizano
A common quality among the Reach Foundation fellows is resilience, Josue Pizano is no exception to this. As the son of immigrant parents from Guatemala and Mexico, a first-generation student and a Latino man in STEM, there are distinct hurdles that Pizano must overcome.
His goals are ambitious as he works to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and go on to pursue a Master’s degree. According to the Pew Research Center, the Hispanic community makes up only 8% of the workforce in STEM. Because there is not an overwhelming percentage of Hispanic people in STEM, this makes Pizano’s story unique.
In his childhood, Pizano’s father gifted him a book titled, “The Way Things Work”. Pizano would sit for hours and read this book, an interest in science sparked within him and a desire to study a STEM related subject eventually led him to declare his major in Chemistry at the University of California - Santa Cruz.
This desire to learn would carry him through high school as a first-generation student and one of the first in his family to pursue higher education anywhere, not only in the United States. Consequently, in high school receiving support with his homework was not something his parents could offer. When Pizano had questions or concerns about college or the application process, his parents could not help because they never had that experience. On a different level, studying in his home often proved difficult for Pizano because it was loud making it hard to focus. These and many more struggles are often what contribute to the difficulties of being a first-generation student pursuing a college degree.
This is when Pizano claims, “The Reach Foundation” is a safety net, he can ask his mentor questions that his family members are unable to answer. Having a mentor proved to be especially helpful his freshman year when there are so many questions and new aspects of college life to navigate. Among these are learning how to apply for FAFSA and signing up for classes. Pizano believes he never would have searched for internships so early on but was encouraged to by those at The Reach Foundation. In his own words Pizano shared, “Things would be different because I wouldn’t be as well rounded”, from his studies to experiences outside of the classroom.
As for his mentor, Pizano has been guided to create short and long term goals in regards to what classes to take, what professors to take classes from and identify struggles that need to be overcome. When it comes to his experience thus far, Pizano realized “Overall, the college experience has been different, even now sometimes college feels like it is foreign but it is about putting yourself out there and growing.”
In addition to his mentor, receiving a scholarship from The Reach Foundation as a Reach Fellow has allowed Pizano to focus primarily on his studies without experiencing financial insecurity. In addition, Pizano is grateful for the ability to avoid placing financial pressure on his family as one of his sisters is currently in college too.
In sum, the opportunities that have been granted to him are allowing Pizano not only to pursue an education but as he described it, “I can carve out my own space, I’ve been able to gain confidence and be as deserving as anyone else”. Josue Pizano is only one example of the way The Reach Foundation aids and facilitates hard working and inspiring students who reach for intellectual enlargement.