A daughter of migrant farmworkers, Jazmin Sanchez’s story touched the hearts of many at the 17^th Annual USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy (WLP) Fall Symposium on Oct. 4.

Sanchez, a USF College of Public Health BSPH student, was selected as this year’s recipient of the WLP Lolita Sauza Visot Memorial Scholarship and student speaker for the sold-out symposium.

The scholarship, for full-time undergraduate students, pursuing all majors, in all colleges, on all campuses, is renewable up to eight semesters. Preference is given to a student who demonstrates financial need and is engaged with the Mexican-American Student Association or the Boricua Student Association at USF.

Sanchez’s remarks inspired the nearly 1,000 attendees as she shared her journey to a bright future.

In her first year of junior high school, Sanchez was introduced to university life and lecture halls. Sponsored by a program that prepares students for college, she took her first tour at the University of South Florida sparking the popular question: “What do I want to do when I grow up?”

She recalls the day she told her parents that she wanted to be a farmer, a sentiment to their careers as their strength inspired her. Her parents laughed together at the idea but encouraged her, nonetheless. As she grew older, Sanchez recognized her deep compassion for those around her and decided that, whichever career she chose for herself, she wanted her degree to give her the strength to help and inspire those most in need. She found herself deciding between social work, nursing, emergency medicine and business.

Thanks to the guidance of Ms. Olle, Sanchez’s counselor since middle school, she was introduced to the USF College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)—an initiative designed to assist students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds in their first year of college and transitioning to complete their bachelor’s degree. This changed Sanchez’s entire trajectory. She originally planned to attend community college, but CAMP gave her hope that attending a university immediately after high school would be possible. Sanchez says she is so grateful she took the leap of faith and is now in her junior year at USF and pursuing a degree in public health.

The connections she created before and during her time at USF helped her find communities such as the USF Latino Scholarship Program (LSP) and WLP. These programs provide students with a sense of comfort as they help prepare them for a professional career but also create a family environment. With the support of WLP and LSP, Sanchez grew confident in herself and her identity as she learned how to navigate through the professional world. Shaking an interviewer’s hand, portraying confidence in an online interview, practicing proper dining etiquette and preparing an elevator pitch now come naturally to her.

Ready to tackle the outside world, Sanchez knows that she will not be forgotten even after graduation, just as she will never forget the generosity of those who have guided her along her journey and set her up for success.

Story by Brooke Russo, USF Advancement Communications and Marketing intern