Meetings and Events Management Presidential Student Ambassador o President of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality o CSUN Senator o Student worker in the Office of Civic Engagement & Diversity

Poor, black, high school dropout -- Washington didn't have a great start in life. She languished in a series of low-wage, no-benefit jobs. Then a pregnancy test woke her up.

Education has changed everything that I am.

When you've grown up and been told for so long that you are nothing -- and you were told by a very important person, like your mom -- that just counts you out for who you are as a person.

Think about being in a box and not knowing really how to get out of it. Education shows you: you can carve a little door here, a little window right there. You can move around now and step outside of that box.

I went to community college at 36 years old. I had given birth to Kennedy and wanted to do something different because I was disabled. I ended up being an honors student. It's the biggest shock, seeing my transcript say dean's list.

My schedule, for the most part, Monday through Friday is U-N-L-V. (My daughter) Kennedy goes to the preschool here. It's hard, yes, but everyone here has made it so easy. UNLV is the village for me.

One day, my daughter may be the president of the United States, but she's not going to be that without an education. Now I know how to make sure she gets that.

Education allows you to grow. It teaches you that there is something more and that you can participate in making things better.

With just a little bit of scholarship funding, I turned my life around. I'm a person who believes that if you've been helped, you have to go out and help other people.

I'm not here to make changes; I'm just here to make a difference.