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Meet the Buenos: Stephanie (‘15), Mimi (‘24), and their parents: Erika and Luiz. The family values education, not just because college is a pathway to opportunity, but also because it helps them to give back to their community in Southeast San Diego.
Erika grew up in Mexico. She was not able to finish high school because she prioritized being a mother and taking care of her family. No one in her extended family had graduated from college. When Erika’s oldest daughter, Stephanie, was in high school, she was particularly motivated to pursue college. Stephanie wanted to start the change for future generations. She told her mother, “I want to change my family tree.”
Erika encouraged her. “I always told her, you know, I didn’t go to school. You go and you do something. Make a difference and do something for yourself.”
Stephanie’s Academic Journey
In order to pursue her dream, Stephanie joined Reality Changers in 2011. “For me,” Erika explains, “it would be really tough to help my kids to look for colleges, do applications, whatever. [As parents,] we don’t know how the system works.” She feels that Reality Changers helped to address those challenges by providing Stephanie with tutoring and college preparation support.
Stephanie graduated from high school in 2015. She attended UCLA with the goal of going on to medical school. She knew that medical school was going to be a challenge and that it would be expensive. So, she asked for advice and looked for scholarships. According to Erika, “Stephanie fights for anything she wants. Every time she says that she is going to do something, she’ll do it. She will find a way to do it.”
Stephanie will graduate medical school in June. She wants to open up a doctor’s office to serve people in her community. This has always been her goal, but has become especially important as she has worked through medical school. She has learned about health disparities in the Latinx community and has seen the effects first-hand. For example, she has seen confusion and potential mis-diagnoses occur when Spanish-speaking patients interact with English-speaking doctors. Experiences like these make Stephanie even more motivated to become a doctor.
Mimi Joins Reality Changers
Mimi, the youngest of the family, always saw herself joining Reality Changers and attending college. Stephanie, who is eight years older, was a trailblazer for her. Mimi says, “Stephanie went to college and she succeeded and she had big hopes and dreams. Following in those footsteps, I want to accomplish as much as she has.”
In elementary school, Mimi would sometimes tag along with Stephanie and her mother at Reality Changers. She doesn’t remember very much from that time, but she does remember that everyone at Reality Changers was friendly and that they always had warm food for dinner.
In 9th grade. Mimi officially started Reality Changers as a student. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic and all learning, including her new high school and Reality Changers programs, was online. Mimi remembers feeling lonely. It was an especially difficult time to transition to high school, because she couldn’t make any friends. Erika says that Mimi was very shy.
During Mimi’s sophomore year, she finally met her online peers in-person. Reality Changers challenged her to put herself out there. Mimi participated in two public speaking opportunities through the program. “It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone,” she says, “but that’s what I needed to be open.” After those experiences, Mimi explains, “it was easier to talk to other people or present in front of people.”
As Mimi was learning and growing, Erika could see how her daughter was changing. Erika knew that the program would be helpful for Mimi because she had already seen how it had benefited Stephanie, her oldest daughter. “My kids went to one place where they could communicate with others. And they could relate to other kids that had the same problems.” She saw Mimi make friends, find a community, and feel included.
In addition to the public speaking activities, Mimi also appreciated the tutoring she received. She felt like the tutors got to know her personally and cared about her success. “It wasn’t like, ‘oh, you can only have them for a little bit of time.’ They were there for you. And they would give you the amount of time you needed for the problems you had.”
Mimi applied to colleges and scholarships during her senior year at Reality Changers. She graduated high school this past spring and recently started her first year at UC Santa Barbara! When choosing colleges, Mimi was particularly interested in finding a strong community to be a part of. So far at UCSB, she has joined a dance group and a data science club.
Erika Goes Back to School
Back in 2020, when Mimi was starting Reality Changers, Stephanie was travelling abroad on a Fulbright scholarship. Their mother, Erika, took the opportunity to complete her GED. She had been contemplating going to college herself. “Before the pandemic, I was thinking, ‘Mimi’s going to college so what am I going to do?’” She had been working as a seamstress and felt ready for a transition. “I said to myself, ‘Do I want to do this all my life?’”
Soon after, a volunteer role counseling couples at her church began to evolve into a paid position. Erika felt called to pursue a degree in psychology, so that she could better support her community. Since then, she has been taking college courses in Tijuana and will graduate in March.
A Family Affair
This Spring, Mimi will finish her first year of college while Stephanie and Erika graduate. Erika says she feels “like a proud peacock.”
She believes that Reality Changers played a key role in her family’s success. “I’m very grateful that we found this program that helped both of my kids. It changed our lives.”
While the Buenos know that college degrees help to advance opportunity, they also believe that one person’s education can benefit the wider community. As Erika explains, “Everything that we have, we can share. We share the knowledge. We share the happiness. We share whatever we can with others.”