Brenda Perez This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Laredo Morning Times - LCC prepares students for college life

   www.lmtonline.com/site/news.cf - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/23/2006   Last Visited: 11/23/2006

   Brenda Perez is a single mother who, at age 40, entered college more than 20 years after graduating from high school.
   
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   Although Avila and Perez took different pathways to get into college, they share a common thread at LCC.
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   Avila and Perez credit the college's developmental courses for helping them overcome learning obstacles to become champions in their educational endeavors at LCC.
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   Perez, too, decided to enroll in college immediately after graduating in high school in 1977.
   
   But during her first semester at LCC, she decided to drop out of college "for all the wrong reasons."
   
   "At the time, I felt that I didn't need a college education. It just seemed better to find a job and start earning money," Perez said.
   
   Perez's father, however, always reminded her about how a college education was necessary to further her life.
   
   The advice Perez received from her father soon started to make sense to her.
   
   "After dropping out of college, I began working. But over the years, I just got to earning slightly over the minimum wage. I soon realized that I was going nowhere in life, while others with college degrees were moving ahead. And it was all because I didn't have that piece of paper."
   
   In 1998, at the age of 40, Perez decided to go back to college.
   
   Perez had some concerns about entering college.
   
   "Besides worrying about what it would be like to be in a classroom with young students, I was worried about whether or not I would be able to handle the demands of a college education," Perez said.
   
   An assessment of her academic skills showed that she would need to take developmental courses in English and math.
   
   At first, Perez said she was disappointed about having to enroll in developmental courses.
   
   But Perez, just as Avila, had a change of heart.
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   "I am so grateful to the college for the direction I received to earn a college degree," Perez said. "I'm glad I took the developmental courses because they helped me achieve my goal of earning a college degree and have guided me to where I am today."
   
   In 2001, Perez earned an associate's degree in network administration and soon after found employment with better salaries.
   
   Today, Perez is a research assistant at LCC in the department of institutional effectiveness-research and planning.
   
   "All the career changes I have experienced after receiving my college degree have come with more pay," Perez said. "And none of my accomplishments would have been possible if it was not for the developmental studies that prepared me to succeed in college."
   
   Perez said she will encourage her 16-year-old son to enroll in college after graduating from high school. She will offer plenty of encouragement to her son if he has to take developmental courses, too. And, she looks forward to a brighter future as she continues to take more classes to advance her college education.
   
   "You can't look at developmental courses as a detriment to getting a college degree. These classes are actually a step to help you cross over an educational gap and get on the other side to a better life for yourself and your family," Perez said.