By Wyatt Miller

Jose Flores, a community manager at Google Code Next, was inspired by his parents to pursue a community-centered path. They immigrated to East Los Angeles and "worked tirelessly and sacrificed everything" so that Flores could have a better life.

"But as a first-generation individual, navigating the educational and professional systems left me feeling isolated and burdened with internalized shame," Flores said. "I felt completely lost and afraid of the task at hand. My path to and through college was riddled with unnecessary missteps, and my spirit was worn down by the weight of figuring it all out alone.

"When all felt lost, it was community that helped me find hope again—the adults who mentored me and the peers who reminded me I wasn't alone."

Those experiences pushed

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