Dante Loretta

But I did end up at the University of Arizona, I was very fortunate, I did well in high school, and I believe there's still a program like this in place, but we didn't have any money, so going to an expensive college wasn't really an option for me, but I did well, graduated in the top ten of my high school class, and because of that, there was a regents presidential tuition scholarship that I was eligible for.

So it really allowed me to

to come here and to understand what college was about.

I was really clueless when I look back on that.

I had become independent.

My mom was raising three kids.

I was the oldest one.

Me and my friends did a lot of backpacking.

That was kind of one of our favorite things to do.

I grew up on the northern edge of Phoenix.

You could actually pack up your backpack and hike out of my mom's

and within an hour or so be in the wild desert, which is now all housing developments.

But back then it was kind of wild terrain.

So I figured out how to apply to college.

I got accepted here.

I forgot to apply for housing.

So when it came time to go to Tucson, I packed up my backpack and I hitched a ride with a buddy who was heading down this way.

And my mom was like, hey, where are you going?

I said, I'm heading out to college.

She's like, do you need a ride?