Maria Rangel

My name is Maria Rangel, and I come from Maracaibo, Venezuela, better known as "La Tierra del Sol Amada," which means "the land of the beloved sun."  It is called that because of its high temperatures every day of the year. I moved to Chicago when I was 14 with my mother, her husband, and my brother. It was difficult for me to adapt because of the cold, the language, and the culture, among others, but as time went by, I was able to get used to it and begin to grow academically. My first language is Spanish, and I started learning English little by little. I never let that stop me in my studies. I am a person very focused on learning, with a GPA of 8.89 and a class rank of 25 out of 286. I am very independent, so I started working at the age of 15, trying to help my mother financially.