Anonymous Donor
$400,000.00
Martha Rochford
$1,000.00
University Presbyterian Church
$4,000.00
Walton Family Foundation
$50,000.00
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. …
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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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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Christina Valdiva., is 32 years old and a single mother of four and veteran of the US Army. She came to Project ARRIBA in the summer of 2012, unemployed and struggling to provide for her family. Christina had been accepted into the Registered Nurse program at El Paso Community College, but did not have the means to pay for tuition or school materials. However, with Project ARRIBA’s assistanc...
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Prior to enrolling in Project ARRIBA, Margie worked at a local medical practice where her boss, Dr. Ugarte, boldly inquired if Margie had ever considered becoming a nurse. The idea of going back to school was daunting and seemed hopeless, especially because Margie was a single mother of two and needed to work to support her family. Nevertheless, she trusted Dr. Ugarte and the idea that he belie...
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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 ...
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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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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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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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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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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