Aileen Hernandez

MY STORY

My name is Aileen Hernandez, and I am a proud first-generation college student pursuing a degree in Psychology at George Mason University. My journey has been anything but easy. I was raised in a trailer park by my mother, an immigrant from Guatemala who left an abusive marriage to give her children a chance at a better life. As the oldest of my siblings, I often put aside my own childhood to help care for them and support my mother as she worked to keep our family afloat. Those early years were filled with challenges, but they also lit a fire in me to rise above the difficulties and to help others do the same. I have always been fascinated by how some people have the ability to persevere through hardship. Even as a child, I wanted to understand why people behave the way they do and how pain can be transformed into purpose. That curiosity led me to psychology and the dream of one day working with children and families who feel unseen and unheard, to let them know

that their story does not end with their struggle.