I’d like to start that I decided to share my educational journey which has been a long one in order to inspire others. Currently I am in my last semester of undergrad here at SUNY New Paltz, but my journey took me down the untraditional path and I am currently in my mid 30s. They say there is no age for college, marriage, kids, etc. in life, it is definitely uncommon.
I have had to overcome several obstacles in this long journey and one of the messages I’d like to share with other adults is that if they have an inclination or are considering going back to college to go ahead and get the help they need to get that GED, that associate degree, that bachelor’s degree etc.
As a Spanish speaker I know all to well that for most immigrants the first step is learning English. That is also the first step I had to undertake when my family emigrated from Mexico to the Hudson Valley way back in 1996. I got lucky and I learned English quickly through playing with my cousins as a kid.
The next obstacle I had to overcome was being the victim of child labor. Right after my 13th birthday I heard a knock on my door and it was my older brother and father who told me I was now working age and not knowing any better I accepted.
I also encountered unexpected animals who were bad educators, particularly in Jr. High, who did not believe in me or did not fully support me for one reason or another, nor took the time to ask me why there was a drastic change in my grades.
The message I want to give to society and parents is that work ethic has its place in the world but just because you had a hard upbringing does not mean that your kids should as well and to employers I would advise them that even if the 13 year old is smarter or more mature than normal they should still not be employed. That distracted me from my studies and led to me being the cool kid in school with money, who had lots of friends, was popular with the ladies, but also the kid who had very little time to do his homework and other school projects.
The next challenge that would come up was that I was not at that time not a legal resident, nevertheless a citizen along with my older brother and our parents. My older brother graduated 4th in his high school class of 2000 from Newburgh Free Academy. He got letters from Harvard Princeton, Yale, you name it only to not qualify for financial aid or any scholarships due to his undocumented status. After being in the honors program in Heritage jr. High and the first year of high school I started to realize that it was pointless for me to work hard in school because I was heading down a dead-end road. Unbeknownst to me or anyone else we would both get our green cards in 2007 a year after my graduation from high school. I believe there are lessons to be learned here by my fellow students, first is to not put being “popular” over being a responsible student. Secondly, anyone who offers you a drink or any type of drug is not a good person or friend though they may be appealing at your young age. Another is that just because one door closes does not mean another will not open. We never know what’s around the corner and things could change for the better with the help of the right people.
Being a first-generation college student presented a lot of obstacles. Being in college was a world that I was unfamiliar with, I never had the guidance of my parents. I did not have the maturity, nor did I see the benefit of going to college, at that time college meant financial debt to me and nothing else. After a brief stint at Suny Orange fortuitously my older brother opened up a Mexican-American restaurant and I opted out to help out there and droped out of college. My advice to anyone who is experiencing the same thing is to ask for help and get help, you are not alone even if you think you are. After two years I had another stroke of luck and I was offered an opportunity to become a life insurance agent for New York Life Ins. I urge students to take advantage of the opportunities you have to be in college at this age but not to stress about the future too much because you have time to figure things out after graduation, there is no rush.
If you have parents that want to see you graduate you should appreciate them and cherish them and pay them with a diploma. After working at New York Life Ins. yet never being promoted to management after five years due to internal politics, I decided to go back to college thanks to some good advice. By this time, I realized that I had been dealt a bad hand of cards as a teenager and I felt robbed. I wanted to go back and obtain what was taken from me. I also realized that I enjoyed learning, and that college was key to my future. Before I knew it I was in my final semester during the fall of 2016. I was so eager to graduate that I took 5 classes instead of my usual 4 that last semester. One day I was told that I did not qualify for Fianacial aid due to the high number of withdrawals I accumulated and number of attempted credits tha last semester. All she had to do was tell me that I should take one class in the spring, and I would be fine but the way the advisor lady framed it confused me and made me think I had no other option. I thought I would pay off the semester in 2- 3 months and due to unexpected financial difficulties, it took me three years to pay that off and get my transcript released.
I guess one of the lessons here is that you shouldn’t give up easily or accept everything. It is always good to dig further and keep asking questions, keep knocking on doors etc. Another lesson to be learned is to take your time in life. The next obstacle I’ve had to overcome was the pandemic. Right after I finished paying off my last semester at Suny Orange I planned to reenroll in college. Luckily one of the customers I sold a car to was a principal at an elementary school. We got to talking as she was buying her car and I told her my story and she advised me that she was an alumnus of The State University of New York at New Paltz and that I should check the website to see if they were accepting applications. I signed up for the guided tour and attended it. Obviously, it was a very pleasant experience (I still have the pictures) the tour guide was very professional, I saw the beautiful backdrop of Mohonk Mountain and all the food and was sold. Just when I was about to apply the pandemic hit. I wish I could remember that womans name, but I will certainly never forget her face and I know that the universe has rewarded her in some way.
After the pandemic I immediately applied and thought I had the world under my feet only to find out that Suny New Paltz required a 2.75 gpa from your original college and I had a 2.73. I felt like the rug was taken from under my feet because one of the things they tell you when you get your associate degree is that you have guaranteed acceptance to a four-year Suny university but they do not tell you about the gpa requirement. I once again knocked on doors by that meaning I made some phone calls and I was told that I could still apply and submit a letter of recommendation plus my own personal statement. I asked my old mentor Bill Camastro whose daughter was at the time an undergraduate at Suny New Paltz to write one for me and I wrote my own personal statement, and I was told to wait about 2 months to receive a respond however within 3 weeks I had gotten the letter of acceptance and I cried of happiness.
The mountain I’m climbing now is being a full-time student while having a whole life. My first semester back was fall of 2021.Coming back to college after almost 5 years was almost like starting from scratch and I had to get my bearings all over again. I look at all the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors now and think to myself wow I can’t believe I am a senior now. I remember my first year on campus and how I did not know my way around at all and see the same look of confusion on their faces so I sympathize with all of you who may be reading this, know that it will all work out, things always have a way of working out.
I have definitely grown up here and look back at all of my professors with an attitude of gratitude. I am especially happy that we have our first black president, and it has been a privilege attending a university with such high levels of ranking nationwide.
I guess this op-ed is a perfect way to close out my undergrad and this special moment in my life. All other things being equal I will be walking in the next ceremony in May. I would like to close on a positive note. Along the way there have been few individuals who believed in me, and they have been vital to my success. I guess what I’m trying to say is that along everyone’s journey you should hold close to your heart all the positive experiences and people that have gotten you to where you are today. That especially applies if you are a senior or a graduate student about to embark on your professional journey. To those juniors, sophomore’s, and freshman, know that life moves fast and things will not always be ideal, if you are feeling overwhelmed pull yourself together and use the universities resources to get over that hump.
One person Id like to thanks is my father who advised me to go back to college as an adult. Another is my former manager at NYL Dominick who also encouraged me to enroll in a higher education university. Looking back I would also like to thank my former teacher Mr. Gutierrez who put me in the honors program unbeknownst to me in Jr. High. That gave me a lot of confidence that I still carry with me today. Another person that believed in me was my high school sweetheart and her family, though life played a joke on us and we are not together today I still am deeply thankful.
I encourage my fellow undergrads to focus on the people that do believe in you and not the knuckleheads you encounter along your journey. Take the good employers who want to nurture and mentor you. Listen to them but really listen. If I could overcome these obstacles I’m sure you can overcome your own obstacles as well, whether they are during your higher education journey or your professional one.