Dayana Valenzuela

My full name is Dayana Valenzuela López, and I’m a student in 6CHT. I am 18 years old. God willing, I plan to study Industrial Engineering, later specializing in automotive or electromechanical engineering. Since I was very young, I have been fascinated by machines — every tiny gear, every part, the way each one works, and how if one fails or stops, the whole machine comes to a halt.

My plan after graduating from high school is to attend university — so my mom will be even more proud of me, and so my sister will have the motivation to be better. I want to give my mom that achievement, since she is one of the first people to truly believe in me. We have grown up together, and she knows better than anyone what we have been through: sleepless nights, stress, tears, uncontrollable laughter, and long conversations. I will show my sister that it is possible to achieve anything you set your mind to — it just takes hard work and preparation. It doesn’t matter if you’re the smartest person in the room; if you don’t practice and put your knowledge into action, it’s useless. I will show her that what you commit to can be accomplished with dedication, support, and God’s help. Going to university would be a small but significant step toward becoming “Someone in Life,” as my mom always says — “So you can be better than me.” But honestly, even with a university degree and ten titles, I wouldn’t be half the woman she is.

These two are my motivations — my life companions — along with my grandfathers Ramón and Rafael, who I know are watching over me from heaven, together with God, helping me become a better person every day. Not just a better student, but a better daughter, sister, and young woman. From a very young age, much of my paternal family minimized my small efforts, but these five people have kept me going — believing in me, helping me, cheering me on, and above all, loving me unconditionally.

My passion is fixing and solving things. I have always been very observant — if I see how someone solves a problem, I can do it too. I don’t give up easily, even though my sister would say I’m very stubborn. If I don’t get it right the first time, I try again, until I’m exhausted or I realize there truly is no solution — because it’s also important to know that not everything has one. But as long as I don’t see a clear “NO,” I’ll keep trying, because those five people have shown me that.

I am a self-taught young woman who strives to improve herself every day — to learn, to challenge myself, always with empathy, because I would much rather be hurt myself than hurt others. I am sensitive; God and my mother made me this way, like a little machine to which they each contribute their own parts to make me better. I am a work in progress, and when I’m finished, I’ll be unstoppable — because God intended it that way. This scholarship would be a help to both me and my mom, so I won’t feel like I’m burdening her too much.