Victoria Conlu
12th Grade

Deer Valley High School
Antioch, CA

In 2006, as a senior at Deer Valley High School in Antioch, Victoria Conlu won a grand prize in the "Save Me a Spot in College" Contest with an essay that exclaimed that all she needed was the opportunity to get to and finish college and she could make something of herself.

Conlu will have her Associates Degree from San Francisco City College by the end of the 2008 and will transfer to the University of San Francisco to become a Registered Nurse. Then she hopes to go on to become a Nurse Anesthetist.

She is among the first in her family to earn a college degree. A lot of family members have started college she says, "but one thing or another always comes up."

Her advice: "At community college it can be really easy to get lost in the system – you have to learn how to motivate yourself" and find people who can help you.

Victoria's winning essay:

Save Me a Spot in College

Save me a spot in a place where I can glance around and say that I've truly achieved something - a place where I can look back over my shoulder and smile, because all the voices who called my dream impossible have all been left behind.

Save me a spot in a place where I can finally stand on my own two feet, and realize that the world is far more real than I have ever imagined - a place where I can grit my teeth, put myself to the test, and realize that I am capable of more than I have ever imagined.

Give me a chance to prove myself, to prove that what I carry in my wallet, what sits in my driveway, and what others have spoken of me are no testament to the great things I’d be capable of with ample opportunity.

Give me a chance to prove that the stereotypes made against me have only made me stronger - to prove that catcalls and racist remarks, prejudices and hurt feelings, have driven me and made me determined to fight. Give me a chance to prove that I am more than just a number in a census, a category in a statistic, an Asian, a girl!

Give me a chance to look an underlying fear of failure in the eye and find the courage to laugh in its face.

Anything I become is better than anything I would be if I had never even tried. Do not tell me to raise to bar, to push forward, when all you plan to do is hold me back, because within us all lies a desire to be something more. Do not pity those whose dreams have died amidst the cobwebs of condescending doubt, but instead open the door for those whose dreams and ambitions are still young, still vibrant and alive.

Save me a spot in college and I can save MYSELF a spot in the world.