Hispanic Development Fund needs us! Invest in Latino youth today.

It's personal.

Upon my eight grade graduation, I had advanced further in my education than either one of my parents, Rafael and Carmen. Though they would have liked to have continued in their own educational journey, impoverished family conditions drove them to go to work at an early age. My dad shined shoes, sold chiclets, had odd jobs in Ciudad Mexico and San Jose Casa Caidas, Jalisco, Mexico. My mother washed other people's clothes and worked at the mercado with mama Andrea in Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala. Both gave up their education dreams, maybe even their life dreams, in order to assist their families. Soon, as young adults in their respective countries, dreams of a brighter future, economic opportunities, and necessity to provide for their families in a more significant way motivated them to emigrate to the United States (It was and continues to be a treacherous journey from Latin America to the United States) They didn't speak English, they just knew they had to work hard to provide. They met in Chicago at a factory where they both worked. They married shortly after and started a family. Their dreams for a better life where passed onto the children.

I am a proud first-born, first-generation college graduate of immigrant parents who through sheer will, determination, and sacrifices paved the road for me to succeed. My father drove a forklift most of his life in the US working for numerous factories and my mother worked an assembly line for a poultry plant and then a valve company. I can't reach back far enough in my memory to remember a time my parents didn't wake each morning at 4:30 am to head to work. The work was hard and the pay was little but they persisted. Their motivation – a better life for their children, to provide for their family.

Despite my parents' determination, love, hard work and dreams, by my junior year of high school I was informed by my parents that they simply could not afford for me to attend college. There wasn't enough money to provide for the family and pay tuition, but that they were committed to working harder and would do anything they could to find a way. It might take a year or two, but a way would be found. I work harder as well, trained harder, practiced harder, competed harder. I knew I wanted to go to college, I knew I was smart enough, talented enough, but how could I get there? Wishes and dreams just weren't going to be enough. Nevertheless, we persisted, continued the hard work and one Spring day during my senior year, a scholarship offer was extended to me. It was the opportunity we had worked and prayed for. I was going to college and my life would forever be changed.

I'm grateful for the help I received along the way in my educational and professional career, but I'm most grateful for two of the most selfless individuals I have ever known, my parents. Yes, the scholarship was awarded to me, but I was only ever in the position to succeed because of the sacrifices my parents made a long time ago – to seek a better life so that perhaps their children could have opportunities they did not.

Contributing to the Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship is not just about providing resources for young people to me. It is about communicating to these young people that they have a chance to ascend and that we believe in them. Let's translate our belief in our youth into scholarship funds. Let's honor the sacrifices of their parents. Let's pay it forward.

Please consider donating today.

Sincerely,

Danny Silva

Would you give even $20 to help me reach my goal? Your support will make a real difference! Together, we will use change to create change! #cambioparacambio