College Speech

We, teachers, are supposed to speak to our students about our college experience today. Since I tend to ramble and get off track easily, I decided I better have a "rough draft"....

My College Soapbox....

I am passionate about college not just because I am a teacher but because of my background. I grew up in south Texas. My parents were born in South Texas. My mom in Donna, Tx and my dad in Harlingen, Tx. My grandparents were from Mexico. My parents were migrant farmworkers. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THAT IS? you travel from place to place working in the fields and ranches. In south Texas, at the time I grew up, many families did this. All of them hispanic families...

I started working when I was 8 years old. From 5:30 am - 6 pm in the fields every day from April to October. From late October to early April, I attended school. My parents and my 4 sisters would travel to Wyoming and Washington state. In Wyoming, we would work the sugar beet harvest and bean harvest. In Washington state, we would work the apple harvest.

It was VERY difficult work and we lived in poverty. When I show immigrants wanting to come to the USA in class I show it with passion because even though I ddidn't immigrate here I know what it's like to live in terrible poverty and to want a better life for yourself. I saw that in my parents. They would do ANYTHING to give their children a better lifhen they drilled COLLEGE into our brains! They didn't want the cycle of poverty and not having choices to continue. they had to make tough decisions because of this dream that they had for us. They moved us from south Tx to the Panhandle of TX, my sophomore year, and it was like going to a foreign land. No Hispanics here. Spanish language was not the dominant language. Poverty because my dad and mom had to start over. But my dad KNEW it was better for his kid's future. There were better better opportunities for his 4 daughters here. My sisters and I hated it because my older sister and I were in high school and we were having to start all over. But you know what? 4 of my 5 sisters have either 2 year or 4 year college degrees! We would not have had that if we had stayed in south Texas. Too much poverty and few chances at college.

Here in Borger, I realized I could go to college. One of my sophomore teachers recommended me for advanced English. I thought "wow?". In that class, I began to think, "Maybe I can go to college? Maybe? Maybe?". No one was there to help me or show me or guide me. I just researched and got the paperwork myself. I found out there were tons of scholarships and grants especially if you were poverty / low-income like me. Then I found out that if you studied a subject that was in high demand that there were more scholarships and grants. I studied Accounting during my years at Frank Phillips College (I made all A's) but later on I switched to education after I taught Sunday School and realized I loved children! I got married after graduating from Frank and moved to Denver, Colorado. I decided to wait a year before continuing but then we got transferred to the Philippines (Air Force). We lived in the Philippines for 3 years. When we returned, we moved back to Borger and I started back to WTAMU but only for one semester because then we moved around some more before settling in at Louisville, KY. I started college at University of Louisville I attended school there for 2 years. I was one semester away from graduating but then we moved again. To Glorieta/ Santa Fe New Mexico. I then went through a divorce and came back to Borger and finished my degree at WTAMU.

Don't give up if you think college is unattainable. When I first taught at Borger Middle School, many Hispanic students were shocked when I would say I had my degree. They would ask, "You mean Hispanics can go to college?" Yes! Yes! Anyone can!

I help a lot of students with their paperwork for college by the way. That is the only draw back, paperwork. But if you are willing to sort through the paperwork and trouble of trying to fill it out, IT IS WORTH IT!!

Elizabeth Hernandez-Forrest