Latinas learn about college opportunities at HESTEC

EDINBURG — Linda Cortina said her determination to complete college started at a young age.

The Edinburg native’s father left her home when she was 13 — forcing her mother to drop out of school, take a minimum-wage job, sell their home and move the family into a one-bedroom apartment.

She didn’t want to suffer like that again.

“I was not going to let his mistake dictate what the rest of my life would be like,” said Cortina, a 2002 Texas A&M University graduate now working for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. She handles research for the company’s Oil of Olay anti-aging division.

Cortina received scholarships to pay for her education at A&M, from which she received a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Because of those scholarships, she was able to graduate from college debt-free and recently bought her first home. She also has sent money home to her mother so she can return to college.

Cortina was one of several speakers at Latinas Day, part of the Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week at University of Texas-Pan American.

The week-long program is organized by UTPA and the office of U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, and is designed to interest Hispanic youth in science- and math-related careers.

At Latinas Day on Wednesday, ninth-grade girls from all over the Rio Grande Valley, together with their mothers or other relatives, heard from fellow Latinas who overcame income and language obstacles to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees.

All of the students who attended the event are enrolled in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP). The Region One Education Service Center and UTPA both have federal grants to administer GEAR-UP, which encourages low-income students to go to college.

Though each speaker had a unique story about her success, they all urged the girls to follow their dreams and not let anything get in their way. They gave advice on how to find scholarships, be involved in extracurricular activities and seek out mentors.

The girls and their mothers said they were impressed with the women who spoke.

San Juan resident Soyla Esparza said she wants her children to go to college, including her 14-year-old daughter, Jessenia, a freshman at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School who was with her at the event.

“I always try to tell her, ‘Do whatever you want to do and don’t let anybody tell you (that) you can’t,’” Esparza said.

She said she especially appreciated all the information the women gave them about scholarships.

“There’s help out there. There’s so much we don’t know,” Esparza said.

Rachel Ramirez, a 14-year-old freshman at PSJA High School, said she was glad to hear about the challenges and successes of each woman, because it helps her prepare for what’s in store for her. She wants to be a business computer technician.

“I love computers,” she said. “I’m always on the computer at my house.”

She said she would like to attend college at Harvard or Yale universities and plans to look into scholarships and grants soon.