[PrinceLightfoot]

I was also one of those who was completely unaware of Stanford until I began applying for colleges.

Even though my parents are my inspirations for success, they had little insight on how to review and compare universities. Mexico only requires a 6th grade education before leaving the schooling system. It was actually my grandmother on my father's side that urged all her children to continue their education in the United States...those stories that speak about a family of eight living in a two or three room home were a reality for both of my parents. Long story short - my father learns english, serves during the Korean War and obtains citizenship, obtains a GED after serving, attends UTEP (El Paso, TX) graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering, marries my mother (who also learned English and obtained a GED), and obtains a job that lands my family with two brothers happily in the middle class. Needless to say, this is quite an accomplishment given the size of the obstacles that had to be traversed.

Resilience and perseverance were taught to my brothers and I from the beginning. The result of that teaching created three extremely competitive children particularly in academics and the arts (although, I killed them athletically). Once we entered school, we each saw it as a fun game to be "better than everyone else".  Another long story short - my older brother (three years my senior) graduates salutatorian and his love of computer programming lands him at MIT. My parents for some reason thought I would attend UTEP, but did not understand how deep the sibling competition ran. I knew that my younger brother (also a Stanford alumnus) was destined to be valedictorian of his class, so any conclusion that had me finishing "last" compared to my brothers was inconceivable. Sounds petty when I think about it now, but it is true! My grades freshman year were above average but they weren't "perfect". Starting my sophomore year I decided to improve my academic performance.

My senior year arrived and had decided that MIT and Harvard were just not for me. I found Cambridge to be very depressing! My application choices were decided by speaking to my older brother and friends - Penn, Princeton, Rice, and Arizona (safety school) were chosen.  One day, one of classmates had a Stanford brochure, and I asked if I could review the material. I was fascinated not only with the academics it was boasting but also the location and the beauty of the campus displayed. I promptly contacted Stanford for an application.

When the acceptance letters came in 1993, my family decided to visit Stanford during Pro Fro weekend. That weekend sold my younger brother, my parents, and myself on Stanford. The visits to other universities were canceled. My appreciation and fanaticism for Stanford athletics was born only after joining The LSJUMB.

[PrinceLightfoot]

I was also one of those who was completely unaware of Stanford until I began applying for colleges.

Even though my parents are my inspirations for success, they had little insight on how to review and compare universities. Mexico only requires a 6th grade education before leaving the schooling system. It was actually my grandmother on my father's side that urged all her children to continue their education in the United States...those stories that speak about a family of eight living in a two or three room home were a reality for both of my parents. Long story short - my father learns english, serves during the Korean War and obtains citizenship, obtains a GED after serving, attends UTEP (El Paso, TX) graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering, marries my mother (who also learned English and obtained a GED), and obtains a job that lands my family with two brothers happily in the middle class. Needless to say, this is quite an accomplishment given the size of the obstacles that had to be traversed.

Resilience and perseverance were taught to my brothers and I from the beginning. The result of that teaching created three extremely competitive children particularly in academics and the arts (although, I killed them athletically). Once we entered school, we each saw it as a fun game to be "better than everyone else".  Another long story short - my older brother (three years my senior) graduates salutatorian and his love of computer programming lands him at MIT. My parents for some reason thought I would attend UTEP, but did not understand how deep the sibling competition ran. I knew that my younger brother (also a Stanford alumnus) was destined to be valedictorian of his class, so any conclusion that had me finishing "last" compared to my brothers was inconceivable. Sounds petty when I think about it now, but it is true! My grades freshman year were above average but they weren't "perfect". Starting my sophomore year I decided to improve my academic performance.

My senior year arrived and had decided that MIT and Harvard were just not for me. I found Cambridge to be very depressing! My application choices were decided by speaking to my older brother and friends - Penn, Princeton, Rice, and Arizona (safety school) were chosen.  One day, one of classmates had a Stanford brochure, and I asked if I could review the material. I was fascinated not only with the academics it was boasting but also the location and the beauty of the campus displayed. I promptly contacted Stanford for an application.

When the acceptance letters came in 1993, my family decided to visit Stanford during Pro Fro weekend. That weekend sold my younger brother, my parents, and myself on Stanford. The visits to other universities were canceled. My appreciation and fanaticism for Stanford athletics was born only after joining The LSJUMB.