My name is Christina Ebaseh-Onofa and I am a senior at BETA. Growing up in my hometown of Edinburg, Texas, I was very unaware of the possible tragedies that one could encounter in life. At the age of 9, I was made aware of this fact when my mother passed away from the H1N1 virus. Her passing was shocking because as a child one could not possibly fathom that their parents could go at any moment. She was only 39, and I trusted that she would be around forever.

Despite this, I feel that I have grown as a person; after her death, my dad completely stepped up to the plate, and took on the difficult role of a single parent. As a Nigerian immigrant, he believes that with hard work one can achieve anything that they put their mind to. Along with encouraging me and my siblings to work hard, he also made sure we had all that was needed to continue with a regular life. I attribute much of what I have achieved to his constant love and support. I am also indebted to the many teachers who have aided in my success.

Among my most valued achievements are: being the current salutatorian of my class, student ambassador, and having over 30 college credit hours. I have also been active in ten school clubs, (among those, Business Professionals of America, UIL, and NHS) qualified as a finalist for the Alexander Hamilton Scholars program, completed the NSLC Law and Advocacy program at Yale University, and attended the prestigious McCombs Future Executive Academy at the McCombs School of Business. I plan on studying international business at one of the top business schools in the nation and want to continue to be an example for my siblings in their future endeavors.