Mourning at Sonoma State - Sonoma State University

How to Explore Major Choices
• Take Freshman Seminar Courses
• Take General Education courses as self-discovery and do Major exploration
• Take Pre-requisite / introductory Major courses
• Attend Departmental workshops or individual advising session in Major(s) of interest
• Study the SSU catalog and go to department web site for advising and career information
• Get experience; volunteer, intern, do CIP, job shadow, get part-time or seasonal jobs
• See Major and career information on-line and follow up with leads
• Attend Choosing a Major Workshop, take Career Life Planning class or meet with advisor
By Diamante Rueda
Hi all! My name is Diamante Rueda. I am a
junior at Sonoma State University. My
majors are Accounting and Political
Science. Here is my essay –which was part
of the application that helped me obtain
SSU Scholarships.
I was born and raised in Acapulco, Mexico.
At the age of seven, my parents divorced.
At the age of 14, my mom decided to
remarry, and she moved to the U.S.
Meanwhile, I lived with my grandmother.
It was extremely difficult for me to be away
from my mom, but I was lucky to have a
very caring grandmother. I lived with my
grandmother for almost four year until my
mother was able to bring me to the U.S. I
remember the night my mom called me to
let me know the great news. That night I
went to bed late. I thought about all the
amazing possibilities that were
awaiting me. I imagined myself
going off to college and later
becoming a successful professional.
I knew it was not going
to be easy, but I was ready to
confront any challenges. The
hardships I have been through
and the obstacles I have
found have not been easy
to overcome, but my
family and desire to
help my community
are my greatest motivation.
leave. While trying to complete the
requirements to graduate, I was also
getting ready to apply for
college. I knew I
wanted to continue
with my
education. Even
though I did not
have much idea of
what the process of
applying to college
was like, my desire to
be successful was so
strong that I tried to
do everything I
could to get
help. No one
in my
family has
ever
When I enrolled in
high school as a second
semester junior, I
struggled with the
English language and
course work, but I was
determined to overcome
any obstacles I would
encounter. I went to
every single office hour the
teachers held. Many times I
was the first one to get to
school and one of the last to
attended college
in the U.S., so they
could not help me fill out the
college applications. I asked
for help from my teachers
until my PE teacher told me
about the SAI (Summer
Application Institute)
program hosted by the
Marin Education Fund...
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