Stephany Barcomb-Rodriguez

Stephany was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Florida. She went to a below-average school, remained average through public schooling, grew excited in mathematics and then failed the AP exam, started math over in college, became a math tutor, loved the subject, earned a degree in mathematics, hated teaching, went back to school, cried in the parking lot day one thinking she could not do it, and graduated from UCF with a master's in Statistical Computing and Data Mining.

Growing up, she found it hard to find relatable books to read. She often wanted to escape the chaos that was reality into a place that felt relatable. Hardly any book satiated that longing to be understood. But then in class, she had to read 'Speak" and "Child Called It." That's when she realized raw and real truly existed. If these artists could publish their stories that yanked emotions and had an odd sense of belonging, why couldn't she add to the collection of the darker truths of our reality?

Just do what you love and take that leap of faith in yourself. We're not here for a long time and all deserve to find their passion.