As the oldest daughter of two professional educators, I can honestly say that my education has been a diverse and challenging journey in my life. I grew up in Mexico City where my parents owned and managed a private school named Helen Keller Adams grades ranged from Kindergarten to High school. School was literately my second home, but never thought that one of Helen Keller's famous quotes would guide me throughout my educational path. It may sound ironic, but true.
Everything started with the peso devaluation followed by my parents' divorce in the 80s. After the separation, my parents lost their only source of income, Helen Keller and were forced to make budget adjustments that included my dad to move to Chicago and for us to change schools. For the first time, at the age of 12, I was transferred to a public school. I will never forget my first day; it was devastating. I had mixed emotions and feelings such as fear, cold sweats, and dizziness. Growing up at my parents' school was pretty normal, but the transition to a public school was not smooth and by the time I was 14 became a very difficult child forcing my mom to send me to Chicago.
In Chicago my dad was working as an elementary teacher aid in a public school. Upon my arrival, he was so afraid to send me to High School that decided to keep me on 8th grade in a bilingual program. His philosophy was that I was not prepared to face a foreign culture, language and high school all at once. I was an easy target to become a trouble maker especially with the list of misconduct references that mom gave him. After six months, I could not handle to live away from mom, my friends and my two little sisters, so was sent back to Mexico with the condition that I would behave and work hard to help mom.
Since I lost a school year in Chicago, I decided to enroll in "Preparatoria Abierta" which is sort of taking the GED. Oh my God! I have to admit that those were the most challenging educational years. Once I obtained my high school diploma, I could not wait to go to the University, so I registered at a private University in Mexico called Universidad Tecnologica de Mexico (UNITEC). I felt so important, but have to admit that it was overwhelming to walk through the halls full of students going to different directions. Sitting in a class with a professor lecturing was a privilege especially after taking high school classes on my own.
A year passed, and to my surprise my mom announced that we were moving to Chicago to live as a family again. What? After all these years! I had mixed feelings; I wanted them to get back, but at the same time, this was another adjustment in my life. What about school? Mom convinced me that moving to Chicago will open up new opportunities by learning a second language, culture, etc. After all, politicians were talking about NAFTA and it seemed to be a positive change. MacCormac College located in downtown Chicago had an excellent reputation for its English as a Second Language (ESL) program. There were five levels and the placement test rated me as a level three student which meant to spend a year in the ESL program before going back to College.
After completing the ESL program, I decided to go back to Mexico and apply for jobs after all; I was bilingual and old enough to be on my own. To my surprise, Mexico did not see as the place I left, things felt different, the subways, the buses, the pollution seemed to bother me, so I packed and went back to Chicago. I registered at MacCormac College as a College student for an Associate Degree in International Business. It was perfect, NAFTA was booming and a two year college seemed to be the right choice to get a feeling of what the big Universities have to offer. I successfully completed my two year program and not only that, I was a Phi Theta Kappa member and received the "Gordon C. Borchardt International Business Award" as the best student for the Class of 1996.
Things seemed to be going very well and decided to pursue a Bachelor degree with emphasis in Marketing at DePaul University. After one year attending school, I married. I remember very well my dad telling me that I was not going to finish school. I am not sure if he said it to challenge me or for me not to get married, but I looked at it as a personal goal. The following year, I had my first baby. Working full-time, being a mom, a wife and going to school at night was not an easy task, but once again, I am proud to say that I completed my Bachelor degree in 2000 with a 3.0 gpa.
Helen Keller famous quote always inspired me to move forward throughout my educational goals "We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough". Perseverance has been one of my strengths, learning how to manage the obstacles and use them to my advantage has made the ride a lot easier. Through my experiences and the wonderful support not only from my family, but also professors, supervisors and co-workers, I have acquired the necessary values to form a foundation. I have the burning desire to mentor others, but I still need the sophistication, knowledge, and wisdom necessary to reach that goal. I feel that NAU can guide me not only to inspire others, but provide me with the tools to help them build a strong foundation.
