Graciela was born in Mexico and moved to the United States at age 5. She struggled to learn English while also maintaining her native Spanish. With help from her family, she was able to become fluent in both languages. Graciela is now pursuing a career in law enforcement, something her traditional Mexican family did not envision for her. The support of her family has been essential to her success. As a first generation college student, Graciela participated in IUPUI's Bridge program, which helped ease her transition. Through the program, she visited a minimum security prison and gained a new perspective on the justice system. Graciela hopes to continue growing through her college experiences and achieving her goals of

1. GracielaArizmendi
11/08/15
AboutMe
I was born and raised in Mexico, to be more precise I was born in Los Reyes
Tlanechicolpan. My whole family was born in Mexico, even my three dogs are from Mexico. I
came to the United States at the age of 5, at that age I was put into kindergarten, I did not
understand anything that was being said, I struggled to learn a new language when I could barely
speak my own. My parents always taught my two brothers and I to learn both of the languages,
because not only does it open more doors in our future but it also reminds us of our roots, where
we are from. I tried my best to speak, read, and write in English, I was doing a good job in those
things, but I was forgetting my own language, I was now struggling to read, write and even speak
my own language. When I read a book in Spanish to me parents they would always laugh at me,
to be fair I would’ve laughed at myself too. All of the words that came out of my mouth were
misunderstood. I decided I could not do this, I could not forget my own language, I always
picked that book back up and read every single word, of course with help from my parents. Till
this day I feel proud of myself, because I did not give up, although I can read, and speak it I
struggle sometimes to write it out because of the accents that I never learned how to do but I will
never stop practicing to not make it perfect, but to make it better. I learned from my parents and
brothers that having a family means having support. I never thought of myself being in college
and pursuing a career in law enforcement. My family were always there at every turn to support
me make the best decision for myself, they always say they know what’s right for me and they
were right. Bringing me to this country was one of the best things my parents could’ve done for
me, if I were back in Mexico I don’t think I would’ve even made it out of middle school without
dropping out. Life in Mexico is a struggle, a struggle to continuously think about how to make

2. money to feed your family, and a struggle to think that there is an unclear future for you and your
family. Thankfully I don’t have to think about those things, because my family is here to support
me. I describe myself, as a happy, curious, friendly, funny (I think I am), and a trusting person
who cares about others more than what I care about myself. I always have the tendency to put
others in front of me, I could be busy but I would always make the time to help others on things
they need. My parents, being Mexican, always taught that I should play with dolls and do girl
activities, I thought otherwise. I love playing soccer, love swimming, love play any sport that
consists of competition because who doesn’t love to win and if I lose I learn that next time I need
to do better. I think I want a career in law enforcement, because they never though their little girl
would end up being a police officer (hopefully) but I know they will still support me through this
decision and be there to watch me succeed in life, because at the end of the day I want to succeed
to show them that all their sacrifice was worth it and their support was even more important.
When I first started college I was scared, because a new chapter in my life would begin
and I did not know how it was going to start. The transition to the new environment was not such
of a bad experience because being able to participate in the Bridge program was one of the best
decisions I could’ve made and a great way to begin the new chapter of my life. During the
Bridge program it was an opportunity to meet other students who were entering college for the
first time and aspiring dreams like the ones I had, it was also an opportunity to make new friends
and know our way around IUPUI without getting lost. During the Bridge program going to IREF
was one of the most astonishing experiencing our first semester of college could’ve offered. It
was surprising to get the chance to tour IREF and see how it operated, but it was even better
when we had the opportunity to sit down and just talk with some of the residents who were part
of toastmasters. To hear them speak was surreal to see them and see how normal they were was

3. even more surreal. Going to IREF every other week, is an eye opening experience to see things
for ourselves instead of learning about things from what the media. We get to see firsthand how
some of the residents were incarcerated because of a simple mistake they made, that cost them
their liberty. It makes us think about how populated our prisons are and how we’ve decided to
incarcerate numerous amounts of individuals without offering rehabilitations to decrease our
recidivism rates. Before we set foot in IREF we took an implicit bias test, that test questioned our
unconscious thoughts and feeling and made them aware to us. Those biases being conscious to us
now allowed us to go into IREF and listen to their stories not form a judging point of view but
rather from an understanding point of view. This opened up door for us to interact more with the
residents and to feel like we knew them for a long time now. From the changing of a new
environment to our implicit bias test has been an impactful experience that has taught me
perceive things not from what they look like but rather from what they really are. Through my
college life I hope to still grow as an individual and as a learner, I will continue to grow through
the classes I take, and through the new people I encounter in the my path to my brighter future. I
have set out two SMART goals, I know I will try to reach and make these goals possible to the
best of my abilities. The first goal is to be a part of the cadet program at IUPUI. My second goal
is to pass all my first semester classes with good grades. These two goals one being a long-term
goal and the other being short term goal will guide me to my success as IUPUI.