By Gabriella Beker with additional reporting Kathy Swartz and Sydney Kim
Three and a half years ago, Maria Contreras and her family started a new life in the United States.
As political asylum seekers from Venezuela, they had to give up everything they knew in pursuit of a better future. Her parents traded their jobs as a surgeon and a business owner for restaurant jobs and driving for Uber. While her parents worked, Contreras helped care for her five-year-old brother and taught her sixteen-year-old sister English.
However, Contreras didnt let these challenges prevent her from seizing every opportunity available to her, from Advanced Placement classes to joining the Varsity Guitar Ensemble and the New Music Ensemble Club.
At times I would feel overwhelmed by all the new commitments and responsibilities that suddenly came into my life, Contreras said. I knew that my parents had come from Venezuela to give my siblings and me a better chance to succeed in life.
Contreras quickly became a star student, earning several Trustee Awards for academic achievement, but she didnt stop there.
She became involved with Code2College, a non-profit organization which connects minority and low-income high school students with resources to pursue careers in technology. Despite having never written a line of code before, this soon led to a full-time summer internship with Indeed where Contreras was the only high school student among college students.
I wanted to make their sacrifices worth it, Contreras said. Instead of being discouraged by my circumstances, I decided to make the most of what I had.
Contreras also pursued leadership and service opportunities, including serving as the Student Council President for three years, tutoring students both in and outside of Akins and starting a chapter of the American Red Cross at Akins to coordinate service projects in the community.
She says her experience growing up in Venezuela inspired her to give back to her community in Austin.
I got to see people really struggling, so I've always had a connection to helping those in need, Contreras said. Even though I can't do it in Venezuela, maybe I can still do some good here and help the people I can, while I can.
Contreras has been featured in magazines, on podcasts and as a panelist at the ASU+GSV Summit and at SXSW Edu. Her achievements have also been rewarded by over $80,000 worth of scholarships, including the Golden Doors Scholarship for first-generation Americans, the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship and the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship.
Contreras will be attending Rice University on a full ride scholarship and plans to double major in bioengineering and computer science.
Graduanda destacada: Mar穩a Contreras supera los obst獺culos en Akins
Hace tres a簽os y medio, Mar穩a Contreras y su familia comenzaron una nueva vida en Estados Unidos.
Como solicitantes de asilo pol穩tico procedentes de Venezuela, tuvieron que renunciar a todo lo que conoc穩an en busca de un futuro mejor. Sus padres cambiaron sus trabajos como cirujano y propietario de un negocio por empleos en restaurantes y conduciendo para Uber. Mientras sus padres trabajaban, Contreras ayudaba a cuidar a su hermano de cinco a簽os y ense簽aba ingl矇s a su hermana de diecis矇is a簽os.
Sin embargo, Contreras no dej籀 que estos retos le impidieran aprovechar todas las oportunidades que se le presentaban, desde las clases de Advanced Placement hasta la participaci籀n en el Varsity Guitar Ensemble y en el New Music Ensemble Club.
"A veces me sent穩a abrumada por todos los nuevos compromisos y responsabilidades que aparec穩an de repente en mi vida", dijo Contreras. "Sab穩a que mis padres hab穩an venido desde Venezuela para darnos a mis hermanos y a m穩 una mejor oportunidad de triunfar en la vida".
Contreras se convirti籀 r獺pidamente en una estudiante estrella, ganando varios premios Trustee por sus logros acad矇micos, pero no se detuvo ah穩.
Se involucr籀 en Code2College, una organizaci籀n sin fines de lucro que pone en contacto a estudiantes minor穩a de bajos recursos de la escuela preparatoria, con recursos para seguir carreras en tecnolog穩a. A pesar de no haber escrito nunca una l穩nea de c籀digo, esto pronto le llev籀 a realizar una pasant穩a de verano de tiempo completo en Indeed, donde Contreras era la 繳nica estudiante de preparatoria entre los estudiantes universitarios.
"Quer穩a hacer que sus sacrificios valieran la pena", dijo Contreras. "En lugar de desanimarme por mis circunstancias, decid穩 aprovechar al m獺ximo lo que ten穩a".
Contreras tambi矇n busc籀 oportunidades de liderazgo y servicio, incluyendo el servicio como Presidente del Consejo Estudiantil durante tres a簽os, la tutor穩a de los estudiantes dentro y fuera de Akins y la creaci籀n de un cap穩tulo de la Cruz Roja Americana en Akins para coordinar proyectos de servicio en la comunidad.
Dice que su experiencia al crecer en Venezuela la inspir籀 a retribuir a su comunidad en Austin.
" Me toc籀 ver a la gente pasar por dificultades, por lo que siempre he tenido una conexi籀n para ayudar a los necesitados ", dijo Contreras. "Aunque no pueda hacerlo en Venezuela, quiz獺 pueda hacer algo bueno aqu穩 y ayudar a la gente que pueda, mientras pueda".
Contreras ha aparecido en revistas, en podcasts y como panelista en la Cumbre ASU+GSV y en SXSW Edu. Sus logros tambi矇n han sido recompensados con becas que suman m獺s de
$80,000 d籀lares, incluyendo la beca Golden Doors para estadounidenses de primera generaci籀n, la beca Amazon Future Engineer y la beca Quest Bridge National College Match.
Contreras asistir獺 a la Universidad de Rice con una beca completa y planea hacer una doble licenciatura en bioingenier穩a y ciencias de la computaci籀n.