HoDC: Humans of Davidson College is a series started by HerCampus Davidson to profile members of the community and to learn more about their stories.
“I did not even know Davidson existed until my senior year of high school. My counselor was helping the top students at my high school apply for scholarships, and he told us with this awesome scholarship that Davidson offers to students from Chicago. I ended up applying to 26 schools, and I got into a lot of them. I got into pretty awesome schools- Vanderbilt, Northwestern, University of Chicago- but I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I was really looking into liberal arts (mostly to prove teachers wrong because they said it would be difficult to get in), and my teacher told me about Davidson. I was nominated for the scholarship, but I wasn’t sure about Davidson. It was literally the last school I applied to. I had to fill out a hard copy application because Common App limits you to 20 schools. I didn’t start the application until winter break, and it was impossible to send my application by the deadline. I had to submit my application late- Jan. 13- because I couldn’t get it through the mail. I was very uncertain about the application because I had to hand-write everything. This included my common app essay and even my peer rec…it was a funny but rough process.
I received a phone call mid February notifying me that I was one of the finalists for the Davidson scholarship. I had to interview with a professor, the dean of admissions, and the first student who ever received the scholarship. I was there and talking about my application. I told them about my difficulty going to high school in Chicago while my parents lived in Mexico–I never really felt at home. Staying with different relatives while my family was far away was difficult. The interview went okay until I started crying–I don’t know, I’m just an emotional person, and I cry easily. After the interview, I felt very uncertain because I cried. It turned out great, got the scholarship, and I’m here now. I guess they just saw something in me that I didn’t see in the interview. The day I received the call that I was accepted was a really busy day for me. I missed their call, so I had to call back, and they told me that I became a Charles Scholar. I started screaming and crying–of course, because I cry for everything. My counselor’s face when he saw me get the scholarship was priceless. It was such a great feeling to learn that your hard work paid off.
When I came to visit Davidson once I was accepted, one of my teachers came with me, and she was so excited that she went to my soccer practice and told all my teammates that I got a full ride. It was awesome to hear that from a teacher, who I only had for one semester sophomore year praise me in that way. My teammates literally carried me in celebration. That same teacher came with me for scholars weekend because my aunt was busy. I told her if she wanted to come she could, and she said yes and missed two days of class just to come see Davidson with me. It was a tough decision for me, and it meant a lot that she came to support me. It all turned out to be the best.”