Erika Hasselmayer Dore

I was born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Coming from a small island has taught me many things, but one for sure stands out, that is the fact that you have to fight for what you want because nothing is handed to you in this life. This skill has shaped me to work hard for what I want and I always give it my all, no matter what I am doing. I give it all I’ve got and always ran that extra mile because if I don’t I easily get overlooked or underestimated because of who I am and where I came from. People might try to make things harder for me but that has never stopped me in the past and nor it ever will. Throughout high school, I have always been an outgoing person and I would be involved in everything I could. I always thought that I wanted to dedicate my life to entertainment, along with photography, and that I wanted to major in theater and acting, but I found a new passion. I had a change of heart when I took this eye-opening Puerto Rican History class by one of my favorite teachers, Shaira CardonaThis is why I have decided to focus on political science and why I am going to, not give up on my dream involving the arts but to simply push it back for now. On top of political science, I plan on taking Business Administration and Latin American or Caribbean history classes. I want to be an advocate for the next big movement and be part of a big change in history. I want to come back to my Island and help better our corrupt government. After all of this, I plan to pursue my love of photography and the arts and to open my own business or organization. I want to be able to build my own brand and work for myself.