My name is Edith Gonzalez and I am the Lead Operations Associate at Alliance Tennenbaum Tech. I would like to share a story about my first year in college.

During my first year of college, I struggled getting used to the college environment. Advancing to college from high school was strenuous because I went from a semester system to a quarter system which led to my poor time management. Every class moved at a faster pace and was hard for me to keep up with assignments. During the beginning of my third quarter, not only was I placed on academic probation, but I also found out my dad had lost his job. I saw it as a sign to leave school and start working to help out my parents. During that difficult time, my aunts and uncles never gave up on me. They encouraged me to stay in school.  They also helped my family and I financially. I knew that if they weren't giving up on me, then I was not going to let them down. With the support of my family, I was able to complete my Anthropology degree in four years from UC Riverside.