Graduate of 2019

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Thanks to your program we received our certificates and for me, it has been a dream come true to be able to complete my studies, which I was not able to do when I was younger, but I am doing it now. 

I got the chance to see a graduation ceremony in December.  I was very motivated by it, and I was very excited to see my friend graduating then.  It was difficult for me because of my age.  To be out of school for so many years, I felt like a little kid starting school again.  But thanks to the trust that HEP gives us I was able to surpass all my fears and I was able to do it.

I found out about HEP because of my friend Irais Santana, she was the one that took me to the HEP office to apply.  During that time, I was going through a tough situation at my job due to an accident and I was not able to work.  I had to have three surgeries and was depressed at home.  On top of that my husband lost his job and he had to go back to working in the fields picking grapes.  That is how I was able to qualify to HEP; something good came out of something bad.

It was a little difficult because I was not used to having to read so much, especially in science and social studies, so it took me a while to be able to concentrate on my reading.  Our teacher Angel Casa was the one that instructed us to read, and his teaching style helped us a lot.  For math, I had the help of teacher Hexiquio Onofre, and I also took classes with teacher Vanesa Saraza and tutoring sessions with Virginia Lazo.  It was a beautiful experience because they explained things to us very well and they cheered us on and inspired a lot of trust in us.  I was afraid because it had been many years since I had studied and for me, it was all new to start school again along with people much younger than me.  I became more familiar with the program and gained trust in myself until I was even able to graduate before some of the younger students and I have continued to study until this day.  These people would tell me there were very proud of me and that I was very intelligent.  My words to these people were always “if I can do this, you can too, there are no excuses!”  I also had a lot of support from my husband and my kids.  They were always there to cheer me on. 

I really like participating in many of the events because I felt like it was my other home; I could relax and feel supported.  At home, I would feel alone and didn’t have anyone to talk to.  I participated in various events like Day of the Death, making catrinas.  For the science projects, I made a presentation with playdough and aromatic candles.  I made pozole and tamales and I loved being there helping with whatever possible.  By being in HEP my pain was decreased; it would help me clear my mind.  I meet many people from different states, and I learned about many different foods and dialects.  In HEP I learned so much about the many cultures of my own country, Mexico.

I would dream of being able to graduate with my high school equivalency because I was not able to do that in my own country.  I feel very happy because I have been able to push forward.  After graduating, I took Child Development classes until I was able to get my Associates in Child Development.  That was my first step.  Now my next step is to get my state certificate to become a teacher.  I need to accumulate many volunteering hours and finish paperwork, so I am hoping to finish this year.  The pandemic made it difficult to get the necessary hours, but soon I will be able to complete them so I could get a job where I could get a higher salary.

I also was fortunate to receive the Literacy Works scholarship.  I am still receiving this scholarship and it has been of great help.

Many people would ask me “why do you go to school if you can’t work?” I would tell them that I didn’t want to wait anymore.  At the same time, there were people that would encourage me to seek help and take advantage of the offered opportunities.

My goal is to work at a school, for example, Head Start with little kids.  My second goal is to learn English and continue my classes in computer literacy.

I feel very proud because as a family we have struggled, but also accomplished together.  I was going to school at the same time as my kids.  One of my kids just graduated from the University of Santa Cruz with a degree in biological science.  My daughter will be graduating from Sonoma State University and will be pursuing a career in Accounting.