Resident: Roland Valenzuela
House: Frueauff
My name is Roland Valenzuela and I am from Hialeah which is located in south Florida. I was born in Cuba in the small village of Mayari on top of a hill in northern Cuba. I grew up in a less then ideal finical situation, however, I believed to have a great up bringing with loving parents. I played sports all through out my life, running track, weight lifting, and basketball. My love for sports came from my dad that was a respected athlete back in our village in Cuba. Other hobbies I have are watching football and listening to music as I procrastinate to do assignments. Currently, I am a 21-year-old senior that attends Florida State University with a major in exercise science. My career goals are to become an anthologist assistant that works in a children hospital.
My story of how I eventually became a member of the family called SSF all started in high school when one of my friends got accepted into the program; however, at that time I was not planning on attending any of the schools SSF is partners with. Fast forward two years and a spontaneous decision later, I decided to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee; the only issue I faced was how I was going to pay for it. Between tuition, housing, and food my decision to attended FSU was a quickly fading one. Then I recalled the scholarship that my friend once attended, so I applied and got in. Little did I know that this opportunity would change my life in such a drastic way. Now thanks to SSF, I was able to attend the school I wanted but most importantly I was accepted into a community that was filled with loving and caring people that helped me in whatever situation. I have experienced countless things that have helped me grow as a person, some might even say I am getting education for life. Some of this events have been learning how to cook food that is edible. Coming from a Hispanic family I never had to do my own laundry or cook my own meals, but that all changed when I moved to SSF. Also, being Business Manager taught me how to mange money when going grocery shopping, and what types of food do I need to stay alive. None of this crossed my mind when I first applied to SSF, but now that graduation is right around the corner I feel like when I leave SSF I will take with my experiences and knowledge that will help in whatever environment I find myself in later in life.
