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- My name is Garrett Carillo.

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I'm from Pico Rivera,
California,

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and I attended
at East Los Angeles College.

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So I attended East Los Angeles
College in 2009.

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I had about a good year of break
in between high school

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and college where all
I really wanted to do

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was work and put money
in my pocket.

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However, I kind of
missed playing football.

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I had played all of high school,
all Pop Warner,

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and one of my buddies
had told me

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about East Los Angeles College,
how I could make it

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on their team
and go back to school.

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So I think that was
a really good transition for me

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back into school.

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It was free thanks to, you know,
the fee waivers they have out

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in the California
Junior College systems,

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and also I was
playing ball again.

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So I was happy
and I really enjoyed

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my experience over there
at East Los Angeles College.

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I came here as a nursing major.

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And actually another benefit,
it being a small school,

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having a good rapport
with my professors

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they realized off the bat
that I had a very big affinity

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to biology.

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And I ended up actually turning
into a Bio major

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and a Chem minor thanks
to these professors

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who saw that in me.

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And upon becoming a STEM major
I found out

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all these different scholarships
and student work programs

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I could apply for at Lincoln
and was actually able

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to obtain a working position
as a research assistant

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in Lincoln's Bio Energy Lab
where I conducted studies

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on micro algae
as an alternative fuel.

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And so that's one thing
that's going

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to really look great
on my resume.

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So when I came out here
to Lincoln I was the first one

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in my family transferring
into a university.

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It was difficult for me
at first.

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I really enjoyed where I was at
now but this was my first time

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away from home
and I was thousands of miles

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away from everyone I loved.

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I had football practices
all day long,

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meetings at 6:00 in the morning,
getting home from night meetings

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at 10:00,
trying to still do homework,

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being able to juggle
all these things.

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And at the same time
finding out, you know,

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things weren't exactly
going well back at home.

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My little sister who was 19
at the time getting pregnant.

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That was really hard for me
to deal with so far away.

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I wish I could be there for her.

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I know it was a very difficult
thing for her to go through

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and I wish I was there
to give her the advice

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as her big brother
and I wasn't able to do that.

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Coming here
was a great opportunity.

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It opened so many doors for me.

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It made me realize things about
myself that I didn't even know.

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Upon getting here everyone
in the town was so hospitable.

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Also on top of that I think it
would just be a great experience

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for anyone to almost step out
of their comfort zone

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and experience a different side
of life.

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And, you know, who knows
what opportunities

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can come your way
just like I had here

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at Lincoln University.

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I would recommend not only
to Hispanics but to all students

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that are interested
in attending HBCUs to come

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to Lincoln University and have
the same experience that I did.