Bank of America Charitable Foundation
$250,000.00
El Paso Electric Co.
$20,000.00
Texas Workforce Commission, Wagner Peyser
$350,000.00
University Presbyterian Church
$3,000.00
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. …
**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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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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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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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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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