By David Crowder / El Paso Inc. staff writer: Project ARRIBA has been quietly working with El Paso leaders to help hundreds of mostly Hispanic students from poor families through nursing school and drastically changing their lives since 1998. …
Jennifer Kuiper’s college career began at El Paso Community College in the 90s. She was playing softball at the time and had an athlete’s path ahead of her. Quickly her life changed when she became pregnant and had to leave softball and school behind. She joined the Army, began working but 12 years and a total of 4 children later, it appeared that college just wasn’t going to happen.
Jennife...
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Christina Jimenez, is 39 years old, and is a single mother. Summer of 2012, she came to Project ARRIBA after completing her first semester in the Registered Nurse program. She was committed to completing her education, however only working part-time, she did not have the financial means to continue with her education on her own. With Project ARRIBA’s financial and case management support, Ch...
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Samantha Davis is 23 years of age, married, and has a 4-year-old son. Her husband was the sole provider and earned minimum wage. While they were able to sustain the household, they lived on a very tight budget. Samantha had just been accepted into the Registered Nurse program at El Paso Community College but no longer qualified for financial aid. December 2012, she became a Project ARRIBA ...
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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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Virginia Chavira, a 40-year-old single mother of 3 came to Project ARRIBA with hopes of becoming a participant. Virginia was attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Registered Nurse program and was unable to finance her needed summer semester as financial aid was not offered during the summer. Virginia had no family support. She relied on student loans, food stamps, social securi...
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Dara Castro, a single 23-year-old, came to Project ARRIBA in 2012. Dara lived with her parents and two younger siblings. Both her parents worked, however they struggled to make ends meet. When she applied to Project ARRIBA, Dara had just been accepted into the Physical Therapy Assistant program at El Paso Community College. Dara had a passion to work with patients in helping them recover from...
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After losing her financial aid due to the 90 credit hour rule, Elizabeth was referred to Project ARRIBA by an EPCC counselor. Following her enrollment into the program and beginning nursing school, Elizabeth’s son passed away. Her son was only 14 years old when he lost his battle with epilepsy, a battle he fought since the age of 10. Project ARRIBA was there for Elizabeth through the grieving a...
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Maria Martinez, a married mother of three came to Project ARRIBA in 2012. At the time, she was unemployed but a full-time student. She received financial aid but eventually exceeded her credit hours and became ineligible. Her husband, the sole provider, could not afford her tuition. With Project ARRIBA’s support, along with Maria’s dedication and strong will, she completed her training and ...
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Anniela Solano, a 25-year-old single mother, became a Project ARRIBA participant in 2012. At the time, she was a full-time student, unemployed, and had no prior work experience. Anniela wanted to work helping people in a field that offered her job security but knew in order to achieve this, she would need to complete her education. With Project ARRIBA’s assistance, Anniela completed her Regis...
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Ysela Hayden, a 29-year-old single mother of two, came to Project ARRIBA in 2012. At the time, she was separated from her husband and had been on her own for a few years. She wanted a better life for her kids and enrolled and was accepted into the Physical Therapy Assistant program at El Paso Community College. However, Ysela was unemployed and her only income came from child support, food st...
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