El Paso Electric Co.
$18,500.00
El Paso Electric Co. (6th Annual Dinner & Fundraiser - Sponsor)
$1,500.00
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
$98,300.00
Trellis Foundation
$100,000.00
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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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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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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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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**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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Angelica Pedregon was born in Tacoma, WA but moved to El Paso, TX at a very young age due to her parent’s military career. With an interest in healthcare, Angelica completed a Medical Assistant (MA) Certificate. In spite of her work as an MA, she still lived paycheck to paycheck and received government assistance. She knew there had to be a better way to support her family.
Angelica con...
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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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**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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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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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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