Jess Pedraza: DACC

I am a 1st generation Mexican-American, born to a 5th grade educated mom and a 3rd grade educated father who immigrated to the U.S. from the avocado state of Michoacán, Mexico. My Adult Education story began by watching my mom receive ESL, then CNA services by my elementary school teachers through a partnership with a grant funded Adult Education program in Southern California. I remember growing up, helping as a translator to both my parents, and going out as a child to help my mom clean houses on the weekend to make ends meet. I also saw how the program helped my parents improve their lives through education. So, I wanted to be a teacher as a kid, a science teacher to be exact.

As a student I did well in all honors or advanced placement courses. However, I was very worried that I would not have enough money to pay for college. So, I enlisted in the Army as an engineer in the summer of my junior year with a ship date one month after I would graduate. After I joined, I quickly found out that low-income families come in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. My fellow soldiers mostly had similar stories of strife, struggles and famine. We all worked to support each other in the good times and the bad. 

A few years later, my long-distance relationship with a high school classmate blossomed into a marriage after she finished her master’s degree. We have three children and are going on twenty years. My wife played a role in my adult education story by reminding me to continue my education, which is a unique story in itself. I started taking college classes in the afternoons via distance education in the ‘90s, one class at a time. I would work 12-14 hours then come home and study for 2-3 hours in the evenings. It took me eight years and six different universities to patchwork the credits that resulted in my BA back in 2009. I continued to work all available tuition assistance to complete a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, half in-person and half online. It was at this point that I shifted my perspective towards high school kids as a more focused group. 

In 2022, I decided it was time to retire from the army after 26 years. I would have 20 months to plan my next move. My wife found employment with NMSU in Las Cruces, so that helped me narrow down options. In my last 3 years, I had been an instructor teaching leaders about strategic operations, which had brought me great joy, so the job search began. 

When I started thinking about what to do when I left service, my wife put her student services hat on and helped me find the answer. I really wanted a job to continue serving the community, free if necessary, as a way to show appreciation for all the opportunities programs like adult education had provided for me and my family. Also I reflected on this generation's families who need a small nudge in the right direction. Adult Education provides these programs, and I love to see how we make a difference. When students sometimes bring their kids in, I can see the same pride in their parents I had for mine at their age, acknowledging the challenges that Mexican culture brings between parents and their children. 

In short, my adult education story is unique but filled with a desire to give back to the community and to show appreciation for the families that have made their way to the U.S. and now are in search of their dreams. And I know that adult education is just one of many programs trying to lend a hand when people are ready to seek assistance to learn English, complete their GED or start a career pathway. I love my job and the people I work with.