Bank of America Charitable Foundation
$11,500.00
Dr. William & Jessica Serrata (Jim R. Phillips Endowment Fund)
$500.00
Nita Phillips (Jim R. Phillips Endowment Fund)
$5,000.00
Southwest Land Development (5th Annual Dinner & Fundraiser)
$750.00
El Paso, TX, May 17, 2018– Project ARRIBA, a leader in workforce and economic development in the Paso Del Norte region, is pleased to announce its 35th graduating class …
Born and raised in Mexico, Rogelio Calvo is the oldest of three brothers and one sister. Prior to becoming a U.S. resident in the early 1990’s, Rogelio worked in the medical field in Mexico. However, due to the language barrier encountered upon his move to the United States and the inability to transfer his foreign credentials, he realized it was necessary for him to enroll in English as a Sec...
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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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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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Elizabeth was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She worked as a substitute teacher and, even though she loved the work, the pay was not enough to sustain her small family. Elizabeth had studied psychology, but later changed her major to nursing after having been impressed by a nurse practitioner who cared for her son at his doctor’s office. She applied to local nursing programs but was eith...
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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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Christina Granillo applied to Project ARRIBA in summer of 2014 after being accepted into the University of Texas at El Paso’s nursing program. As a single mother of a young boy, Christina worked a part time job to provide for her son, as well as to cover the anticipated expenses associated with nursing school and childcare.
During the enrollment process, Christina shared that she was despe...
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Mayte Githinji was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and moved to El Paso, Texas in 2011 when she was 18 years old.
Mayte received all her formal education in Mexico and, as a result, had to learn English prior to enrolling in college. After a semester of English as a Second Language classes, she was able to start her core classes at El Paso Community College (EPCC). There she met her husband who ...
Born and and raised in Denver, CO., Kimberly Gonzalez began her college journey at Amarillo College in 2011. However, as a single parent, she was only able to take 1 to 2 classes per semester while working full-time.
With very little support from her family, Kimberly moved to El Paso in hope of receiving additional help from her son’s father while she worked and furthered her education. ...
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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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Maria Rendon was born in Reynosa, Mexico, and raised by her maternal grandparents in the small town of Rio Grande, Zacatecas.
When she was 10 years old her mother brought her to the United States in search of the American Dream. A new culture and language proved to be a barrier. Maria had a difficult time in school due her limited knowledge in such basics as math, science and history. H...
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