Biography: Alex Guzman is the proud son of two hardworking Guatemalan parents. At a young age, he demonstrated qualities of being proactive, tenacious, devoted, and disciplined due to watching and admiring his parents. These qualities gave him the foundation to excel academically and in other extracurricular activities. Alex was also able to obtain and hone various valuable skills through the sports he participated in throughout his childhood, particularly soccer in which he learned the importance of communication, cooperation, and understanding one’s role. Ultimately, his efforts and accomplishments in both school and sports came to fruition, landing him the honor of enrolling in the University of California of Los Angeles after graduating from high school. At this prestigious school, Alex continues to thrive in his education keeping a record of straight A’s, while balancing his part-time job. 

In addition, Alex’s parents owned a humble convenience store in downtown Los Angeles. Upon growing up, he would devote the majority of his free time to helping his parents, especially during the pandemic. In that store, Alex developed a strong passion for business and an urge to help his parent’s financial endeavors. For these reasons, he is strongly determined to secure a top position as a financial advisor to take care of his parents and their business with the expertise he obtains. 

Future Plans: Alex Guzman plans to retire his parents one day and as soon as possible. Therefore, during his time at UCLA, Alex has been pursuing higher education and is in the process of securing internships at well-respected firms. Alex has continued to broaden his connections with people in his school, and those he has been in contact with through his internship application. Furthermore, post-graduation, Alex aims to pursue his MBA or gain a tremendous amount of valuable work experience as a financial advisor or wealth management associate. Ultimately, he wants to use his wisdom and experience to enhance his parent’s small business and secure a well-paying job at a high-level corporation. Alex aspires to become an important figure at his future corporation. Moreover, he will climb the corporate ladder, ultimately securing prestigious positions and having a heavy impact in the time that he is there. 

What this scholarship means to me: First and foremost, I am eternally grateful and appreciative of this honor from the bottom of my heart and soul. My decision to commit to UCLA was heavily influenced by scholarships as receiving them allowed my dreams to become a reality. Due to my family’s financial situation, the primary wall preventing me from accomplishing my dream was the fees and expenses to attend this prestigious school. Thus, when I first received my acceptance letter, it was a bittersweet moment as I realized I had been accepted by my dream school but would have to be burdened with thousands of dollars in loans. However, I have been blessed by these scholarships throughout the years as they helped make the cost of attending UCLA more affordable. As I come to a close in my second year, I can proclaim how important these scholarships were in attending UCLA. After seeing the tuition, cost of living, and other expenses pile up in my BruinBill I am relieved and once again reminded of how grateful I am to be granted these scholarships. Furthermore, this scholarship in particular will immensely contribute to my living circumstances next year, lifting another financial burden off my shoulders. 

Once again, thank you so much for choosing me as the recipient of this esteemed scholarship. The stress of having to pay these expenses has been drastically diminished for me and my parents. You have extremely helped keep my dream of graduating as a UCLA Bruin alive. Thank you.