2010-2011 Doug and Grace Laughlin Scholarship Winner: Leslie Asuncion

Leslie Asuncion grew up in Corona, California with her parents and two younger brothers. Since a young age, Leslie has had a passion for education.  Now a freshman majoring in Political Science at Denison University, she is the first person in her family to graduate from high school and attend college.

“Every day I would go to school with an ambition to learn. I appreciated every lesson, knowing that I had a great opportunity that my parents never had.”

Leslie’s effort toward her education has been recognized throughout her secondary school years. She has received awards such as Board of Education Student Recognition, Upward Bound Excellence Award and Student of the Month for four successive years. However, it’s never been easy for Leslie to balance her life and studies.

Coming from a self-employed family, Leslie has always needed to work to help family make ends meet. Instead of spending time with her friends and enjoying her teenage life, her summer holidays are usually spent between home and flea markets, where she helps sell homemade hammocks.

“I have more responsibilities than an average teenager, helping my family so we can make enough money to pay rent. Still, I value education; it is a very important component in my life.”

Leslie says that the person who has helped her most with her pursuit of education is her mother, Aracely. Unfortunately, Aracely was diagnosed with breast cancer when Leslie was sixteen years old.

“The hardest moment I’ve had is to realize that life could be taken away at any time and I can possibly become mother to my two younger brothers at the age of sixteen.” As Leslie struggled between catching up with homework and running a household, her mother told her that she needed to concentrate more on school.

Aracely told her, “I have enough strength and hope in one toe to defeat breast cancer by myself and you have enough strength as well to do the same with earning your education.”

Leslie told us that many teens in her community turned to gangs, drugs, and alcohol. She believes that many do not persist to a higher education due to poor living conditions, lack of motivation, and peer support.

“These challenges and struggles shaped my dreams of attaining a higher education in political science. The College Parents of America Scholarship will assist me in my education aspirations as an opportunity that would open doors to me that my parents never had. This scholarship will enhance my goals in achieving a successful career in political science, and introduce me to places I have only been able to see in pictures.”

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