El Paso, TX, December 9, 2020– Project ARRIBA, a leader in workforce and economic development in the Paso Del Norte region, is pleased to announce its 40th graduating class of El Paso Community College, University of Texas at El Paso a…
Adriana Gomez was born in El Paso, TX to parents of Mexican descent and is the oldest of four children. In 2009 Adriana graduated from Canutillo High School and quickly enrolled in the Industrial Engineering Program at the University of Texas at El Paso. After two years in the program, she came to the difficult realization that this career was not for her and decided to pursue nursing. Howev...
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While born in El Paso, TX, Zahori Estrada lived in Monterrey, Mexico for several years due to her father’s job. She came back to El Paso at age 17 and graduated from high school. Her parents encouraged her in pursuing higher education and by 2008 she was enrolled in college. However, a year later she became pregnant with her first child and life changed.
While her parents remained supp...
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Jesse Carbajal, is a 24-year-old young man. When he applied to Project ARRIBA in 2012, Jesse was working as a rehab tech and has just been accepted in the Physical Therapy Assistant program at El Paso Community College. Jesse knew he would have to quit his job to devote his time to school but would also not have the means to pay for his tuition. Jesse was also dealing with a trying living ar...
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Rachel Montiel-Gravlee was born and raised in central El Paso and is a second generation Austin High School graduate. After finishing high school, Rachel enlisted in the Army, finished her time in the service, and enrolled at Kaplan College to train to become a medical assistant. However, wages as a medical assistant were too low and she soon went back to bartending full-time and attending sc...
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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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**Participant Voice - Diana Esquivel, PTA EPCC**
Diana Esquivel is from Gomez Palacio, Durango Mexico. She moved to El Paso, Texas, six years ago after graduating from law school in her home town. Despite her degree and inability to speak English, she was not able to find many job opportunities in the U.S.
Realizing this challenge, Diana enrolled into English as a Second Language (ESL) ...
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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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Maria de Los Angeles Barragan was born and raised in Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico. She moved to El Paso in 2006 upon acquiring residence, and started her new life. She knew she needed to learn the English language and immediately started looking for assistance. She was able to acquire her GED through the San Jacinto Learning Center. Soon after she enrolled at EPCC for ESL classes, and it was t...
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Luis Nieves was born and raised in Puerto Rico and in 2005, moved to El Paso, TX. Luis proudly served in the U.S. Army for 3 years and during that time was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. His primary specialty in the Army was in healthcare. After his separation with the armed forces, Luis knew he wanted to continue into a healthcare field. He studied exercise science but was unable to find a d...
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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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