Articles - Summer 2010 - return to index
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“Give yourself an opportunity to go to school.” |
Education helps Teresa Alonso help others
-By Chris Cunningham
Teresa Alonso’s parents were dead set against her moving to Eugene to earn a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). A year later, she again had to convince them to let her enroll in transfer classes at Lane Community College.
As migrant workers, her parents depended on Teresa to care for four younger siblings and to help manage the family finances.
“Their knowledge of our system in education was very limited,” says Teresa. Her father never went to school, while her mother completed fourth grade.
Teresa attended Lane part-time from 1995 to 1998 while working two half-time jobs. She appreciated the small classes and services like the Multicultural Center.
Her coursework helped her think about her goals and needs. In a Global Health class, for instance, she learned that “I needed to nourish myself—physically and nourish myself through education. I cannot help others if I cannot not help myself first.”
She transferred to Western Oregon University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social science in 2002.
Today she directs the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Portland Community College, where her own early struggles to complete an education fuel her passion for removing language and cultural barriers for other minority students.
Teresa has received recognition for her advocacy work with Latino groups. Recently, the Portland City Council recognized the CAMP program, under her leadership, for its efforts in fostering Latino student achievement. In 2009, she completed the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s Executive Leadership Program at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. In 2007, she served as a Mark O. Hatfield School of Government Leadership Fellow.
Teresa knows firsthand the value of a community college education. “It’s an investment in the future,” she says.
