Transcript
What inspires you from WFSU Public Media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. My name is Andres Felipe Hilarana, and I'm a senior at Florida State University. I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. I lived there my whole life. And I think that once I understood my reality and the situation of the country, I seek for other opportunities outside. When I came to Florida State University, I came thanks to the Enconquer Scholars Program, which is within care. The Center for Academic Retention on Enhancement, that basically focuses on helping students who live with other people, who maybe experience homelessness or relative care, or foster care, Ms. Lisa, who was at the time the director of Enconquer Scholars. She told me that here I would have a family, and that's why I came. Four years go by so fast when you're busy, and when you're trying to figure it out, you come here with these big dreams, and they get nervous, and the more you understand who you are, and the more you learn about yourself. And helping as many students as I can during the process has taught me that there is an important aspect of being intentional with your time, because it's made it so much more meaningful, you know? It's not the average I go to college just to have fun, and then I graduate for a degree. It's more like, what can you do beyond that? Right now, I'm teaching a couple of classes for first-year students, and when they tell me that they're graduating for years, I feel they'll disperse and never. You know, there are times that I feel tired or burned out and whatnot, but then seeing these young people coming in with the fullest, more spreadest ideas inspires me, and motivates me to keep going. So what I learned at FSU is that it is worth to be hopeful for the future, that things are going to be better eventually, and that we invest in our future students and in our future leaders. Things are going to be okay. My name is Andres Felipe Hilarana. I am from Bogota, Colombia, and I am a senior off Florida State University. You're listening to voices that inspire.