Culture lives among all of us. Our heritage lives in our souls, our communities and makes us who we are.

For me, growing up in New York City, I was surrounded by culture, learned about my heritage, and knew early on those ties would allow me to be anything I chose to be.

Being the first in my family to go to college was not the only goal I wanted to meet. It was about doing something with the knowledge I gained and making my future a much better and brighter one than my past was.

A future that would allow me to make a difference and provide my children with the ability to allow them to be as creative and inspirational as they want to be. Encouraging them to take steps as young kids to play an active role in their future allows my husband and I to help them build their path to success. By being active (and positive) role models in their lives, and helping them build on their strengths, they can make a tremendous impact on their future.

Teaching our kids about programs like the #CreaFuturo, allows the next generation to transform their lives by creating resources and tools that will impact the future.

Looking to increase student interest in mobile technology as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in today's youth, Verizon has created the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. This challenge offers students the opportunity to participate in a creative and team-based competition which offers $20,000 grants for winning middle schools and high schools, along with Samsung Galaxy Tabs for students on the winning teams.

The objective of this challenge is to encourage teamwork, foster creativity and teach students that all new possibilities for their futures begin with them.

So take part and help the future generation become a part of the Heritage of Tomorrow.

Join the conversation by following the hashtag on Facebook and VerizonLatino on Twitter and encourage all children to build the doors to their futures.