El Paso Electric Co.
$18,500.00
Trellis Foundation
$100,000.00
Wells Fargo Bank
$25,000.00
VIP Meetings enhance the social intelligence of our participants by engaging them in critical thinking workshops that develop them for the workforce.
These community groups foster an intimat…
Maria Medina applied to Project ARRIBA at age 40. She was a single mother of 3 and had reached a point in her life where she wanted to make a positive change for her and her children. Maria heard of Project ARRIBA at an El Paso Community College (EPCC) nursing orientation, applied and was accepted into the program. While in school, she had to stop working as a medical assistant and move in...
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Kristie Darlene Reyes was born in El Paso, TX. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother moved to Florida— where Kristie spent her summers. When her father re-married, Kristie’s home life became difficult and abusive; and she found herself on the street at age 17. Kristie had gone from being a straight “A” student with prospective hopes of joining the Air Force Academy, to leavi...
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Elizabeth Terrazas is 24 years of age and a single mother to a 2-year-old son. She always knew she wanted to work in the medical field as a nurse and enrolled in the Licensed Vocational Nurse program at El Paso Community College. Unemployed and with no financial aid available, she became a Project ARRIBA participant December of 2012. With Project ARRIBA’s support and much hard work and dedi...
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Eliana became a Project ARRIBA participant in 2011 at the age of 25. She had been separated from her husband, and had custody of her two younger brothers ages 15 and 8. She worked part time doing tax returns and was earning $7.25 an hour. She relied on social security income and food stamps to meet living expenses. Eliana started off with the LEAP/WDA program at El Paso Community College an...
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Christina Valdiva., is 32 years old and a single mother of four and veteran of the US Army. She came to Project ARRIBA in the summer of 2012, unemployed and struggling to provide for her family. Christina had been accepted into the Registered Nurse program at El Paso Community College, but did not have the means to pay for tuition or school materials. However, with Project ARRIBA’s assistanc...
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A May 2014 graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso’s (UTEP) Nursing Program, Vanessa credits Project ARRIBA as her chief supporter and the organization that made her dream a reality. Vanessa’s circumstances are much like your typical Project ARRIBA participant, with full family commitments and financial stresses such as a spouse’s unemployment and family financial hardships. These facto...
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Veronica knew the only way she could support her family with three small children was to gain a post-secondary education. After completing her prerequisites for the nursing program at the El Paso Community College, she realized that she did not have the resources required to continue on in her studies. On the verge of putting her education on hold, Project ARRIBA partnered with Veronica in 2003...
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My name is Bertha Lorena Contreras and I am a Project ARRIBA graduate. I was born in Cd. Juarez and was raised in San Buenaventura, Chihuahua, Mexico. While in Mexico, I completed two semesters of college, married, and had three sons. I decided to come to the states when my marriage ended.
Leaving my hometown was scary for me and my children but I wanted to give my boys a better life. On...
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Belinda Atienzo was born and raised in El Paso’s Segundo Barrio. She graduated top ten percent of her class at Bowie High School, and began college at NMSU, pursuing a degree in nursing. However, due to financial struggles, she was forced to come back home with her parents. With determination to continue her journey, Belinda immediately transferred to EPCC. Working as a tutor/note-taker at the ...
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**Participant Voice – Andrea DeMay, RN UTEP**
Andrea DeMay was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She and her family call El Paso home. She is married and has young daughter that was born with severe genetic physical abnormalities. Over a span of six years, Andrea was unable to work or go to school full-time. They spent months in and out of hospitals here in El Paso and in San Antonio. H...
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