My Ascend Story – Johnny Cuevas

By: Johnny Cuevas, MLT Ascend Scholar

Meet Ascend Scholar Johnny Cuevas, a sophomore at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Johnny shares how his Ascend Coach helped him get his GPA back on track and has taught him the importance of building a network.

In my second semester as a college freshman, I wasn’t displaying my best. In high school, I didn’t have to work that hard to do well. I didn’t even really need to study that much then, but college was  a big change!

My GPA took a hit in the beginning. I realized that if I didn’t get my grades up fast, I would lose my scholarship—and then I wouldn’t be able to stay in school. My dad has always been big on education, and I knew he was disappointed. “What are you doing over there?”, he said.

My MLT Ascend Coach, Oscar, gave me the strategies to make positive changes. He helped me figure out what to focus on and what I needed to do to stay on top of everything.

I had to decide to put academics first. I made the choice to drop any distractions. I changed my mentality and got my grades up. I realized that I needed to find additional support resources. I also had to learn to make the time to study and do my work.

Oscar encouraged me to build my connections. He told me that these networks would support me when I needed help with my course work. Now, I’m in the Software Engineering Society, I have made friends with math majors, and I also joined the House of General Science.

On top of that, I was nominated to be Secretary for the Latin American Student Association. I asked my coach, “Should I do it?” I was worried about taking on a leadership position when I needed to focus on my academics. I wasn’t sure what I was capable of. My coach encouraged me and told me to go for it. He told me that it’s important to know more people because that’s how I know that I’m not alone and I can get the resources and support I need to succeed.

My MLT Ascend Coach helped me to think about going out there and making connections, joining organizations, and getting involved. I feel like I don’t have to be embarrassed by people recognizing me on campus. I know who I am and I am confident in what I am contributing to the community. As a leader for the Latin American Student Association, I feel confident reaching out to people to build our organization. I’ve grown professionally.

I’ve learned that I can persevere. When I want to get something done, I know that I’ll go to whatever lengths it takes. I trust my abilities. I know that I can do it.

I’ve been into computers since age 10 and my ultimate goal is to work at Google. It’s exciting that I’ve been able to take my interests all the way, to know that I am setting myself up, with my schoolwork and connections, to land my dream job. It’s a big deal. No one in my family has been an engineer. This represents a new field and a new page for my family.