A veteran is giving learning a second chance, going back to school at the University of Hartford. Cynthia Puerta says she chose to study psychology because she wants to help other veterans like herself who are healing from trauma.

Cynthia Puerta was in charge of 40 Marines when she was in the military. She hasn’t let “hard” and “impossible” stop her, and she’s gotten to the other side of too many traumatic moments. But starting college at 31 years old was still intimidating.

Psychology major Cynthia Puerta presented research about the unfair treatment of and prejudices against Latinos. She says she has a personal interest in this subject since she has encountered discrimination. “I learned that it is so important to speak up about these types of issues”.