When I Was A Girl
All women have a unique story and perspective. For Women’s History Week March 1-5, 2010 we would like to help our students connect to our stories and we would like to invite you to share yours! We will post the stories of faculty and staff around the campus on lawn signs.
Please send your story by February 3 to lblack13@alamo.edu. Keep it brief but descriptive. It should be around 100 words. (See sample below) Thank you very much for your consideration. The committee is looking for 30 faculty or staff to participate.
Sample:
When I was a girl I was a Brownie Girl Scout. My uniform had a little pouch connected to a belt in which I would carry my meeting dues. Back then The Avon lady would come to our house. My mother bought me a perfume stick, which smelled like mountain laurels. It fit perfectly in my little brown pouch, I loved it. Now, 40 years later, the smell of blooming Mountain Laurels in the spring triggers a peaceful and satisfying feeling in me. I remember it as one of the nicest things my mother did for me. When women are nice to other women and girls, it is important. It is simple, and good.
Or feel free to share YOUR story in the Comments link below!
I always wanted to be in health care; my plans were to go to
medical school and become a pathologist. I read books about medicine and
studied to get good grades in high school. My parents, who didn’t go to
college, had other plans for me after speaking with their friend and guidance
counselor at our high school in Massachusetts. “Your daughter needs to go
to nursing school. They don’t want women in to medical school and
besides, it would be a waste since she’ll probably get married, have children
and never use her education.” I graduated from a diploma nursing
school in Boston at the age of 20 and worked in public health for 2 years.
During that time, my nursing supervisor took me aside and told me that I
wouldn’t amount to anything without a university degree so I went to Boston
University subsidized by federal traineeships and completed my bachelor’s
degree. The following year, I completed my master’s degree and my supervisor
and I were classmates.
My journey in nursing has taken me through many side roads
but it always has led me to the healing of my fellow human beings. I
became a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner in 1997 and practice part
time while teaching here at SAC. I have become a clinical
hypnotherapist. Do I think about the medical career that I could have
had? Of course. Would I have been good at it? I know I would
have. I actually tried Forensic Nursing as a sexual assault examiner and
found that it was too intense and upsetting. In the meantime, I have
raised a wonderful daughter as a single parent and then as a remarried parent.
I bought my own home and cars and put my daughter through university
while allowing her to choose her major. After twenty-six years at San
Antonio College, life is good as I look forward to more productive years and
finally retirement.
Sheryd J. Jackson, RN, MS, WHNP-BC
When I was a Girl
I am the youngest of five children and the
4th daughter. When I approached my father about college he said,
‘Why should I pay your way through college, you’ll just drop out and get
married?’ He did pay for my first semester at Junior College and I paid
the rest with help from some loans and a scholarship. I am the only one
among my immediate family to graduate college. Two years after
graduation my fiancée and I paid for the wedding.
Julie Cooper
I grew up in a very small town in the Texas hill
country.
My grandfather was a schoolteacher, principal, coach, and
businessman.
My dad was a college professor. I always looked up to these two people.
I was not the most popular girl in school, but this is not
the most important
thing. I was a long
distance runner, involved in track and cross-country.
I graduated from high school in 1997 and was accepted to
UTSA.
Being right out of high school, my maturity level was low and
I ended up
going to UTSA only for a short time. After many years, marriage, and my first
child, I decided it was time to get back to school. I started back in 2006 here
at San Antonio College.
I have maintained above a 3.6 GPA the entire time I have
been here. I plan on
getting my Doctorate’s degree in psychology.
I want to open my own
office and see clients of all ages. I have been through many very hard circumstances
in my life and will combine my own personal experiences along
with expertise gained in
school towards my future profession. I value highly, the prospect of helping
others. God has guided
me all the way and will continue to guide me.
Angela Noah-Rico
When I was a girl…
I was very lucky to have parents who believed in me and told
me frequently that I could do and be anything. It was a “given” that I would
attend college and get a good education, and my parents helped finance that
education. While I did appreciate all my parents offered me, it is only now as
an adult that I realize how lucky I was! I am so proud of our SAC students who
pursue an education without having the emotional and financial support I had.
And as a member of the SAC faculty I’m proud to be able to help all our
students achieve their educational goals.
I am a lucky one.
I am a fourth-generation American, with roots in Mexico, Spain, Ireland and
Switzerland. My great-grandparents were the immigrants, struggling to
create a home in the U.S. My grandparents knew the value of education,
and worked hard to put themselves through college, and encouraged my parents
through college too.
With seed money from Granddaddy, my parents started a college savings account
at my birth, saving throughout my childhood. After high school, I
attended the University of Houston full-time. While I worked hard to make
good grades, I only worked for an employer during the summers to earn spending
money
Deborah M. Martin
I always knew I’d go to college. But I didn’t know I’d marry
after two years and have to transfer to three different schools and then
commute to the third more than an hour each way every day. But I finished
because I knew I wanted the degree. Then while I was teaching high school, I
had the opportunity to go to night graduate school and meet my husband before
his night law classes. I didn’t know then that I was going to love teaching
college as much as I do! And I got my post-graduate hours by scheduling classes
around my teaching schedule as well as chauffeuring three boys around. I advise
students to get the education in before all the interference, or plan on having
lots of stamina!
Carol Ann Britt
When I was a girl I was a Brownie Girl Scout. My uniform had a little pouch connected to a
belt in which I would carry my meeting dues. Back then The Avon lady would come
to our house. My mother bought me a perfume stick, which smelled like mountain
laurels. It fit perfectly in my little
brown pouch, I loved it. Now, 4o years later, the smell of blooming Mountain
Laurels in the spring triggers a peaceful and satisfying feeling in me. I
remember it as one of the nicest things my mother did for me. When women are
nice to other women and girls, it is important. It is simple, and good.
Suzanne Martinez
I was raised with a single mother and a widowed grandmother.
They sometimes worked more than one job so that I did not have to work. I chose
the college that gave me a full scholarship because it felt like the right
thing to do. God granted me that serenity since I was going so far from home.
When I graduated college, they were proud of me, but, what they didn’t know was
that I was even prouder of them.
Beatrice Canales
Here’s my story. I also thought you might want a
picture to go with the words.
“I grew up in a military family - a “melting pot” of
Americana. I worked, studied, and graduated three times: Associate
Degree, Bachelor Degree, and Master Degree. On my journey, I asked for
help and am now a Professor and Chairperson - completing my Doctorate Degree.
Some said I could never do it – they were wrong.
Create Your Tomorrow: ask for guidance, learn all you can,
graduate, and bring your dream to life. I did - you can too.”
Barbara Knotts
When I was a little girl my Grandma taught me that I was
special in God eyes. She taught me to always put God first and he would
direct my path in my life. I can remember my Grandma singing her favorite
song, “ I Shall Not Be Moved”. Till this day we sing this song at
all our family gathering. And her favorite quote “If a task has once begun. Never leave it till it's
done. Be the labor great or small. Do it well or not at all.
Allonia Etoye Nathaniel
When I was a girl, my mother would buy beautiful fabrics to
make all my clothes. You see, my mother was a single parent when it was
less common (in the 1950s). Times were harder back then. One of my
vivid memories was when I was about 12 years old; my mother had put an
outfit in lay-away for me. When she saved enough money, she and I walked
to the department store which was about 2 miles away holding onto one
umbrella—in the rain. She sang—“I’m singing in the rain…” I still
remember that beige vest and skirt with a red blouse. It was special
then—as the memory is today.
Gloria Pimentel
When I was a girl, I was led to believe that “the law”
required kids to attend college. I was a
SAC student before I realized my family – siblings, grandparents and parents –
had lied to me. These same people never
reduced their conversations to words a kid like me could understand, so I had
to learn to comprehend them regardless.
As a result, I gained a fabulous vocabulary, learned to speak without
anxiety to adults, and gained a cardshark’s pinochle ability. These small good things brought me a great
love of words and expression, especially reading Shakespeare with my dad.
Jane Focht-Hansen
I graduated from Ludwigsburg American High School in
Germany. I was to attend Trinity
University the following Fall semester.
When it came time to leave Germany and travel to Texas, my father drove
me and my luggage to Bremerhaven, walked me to the ship, hugged me and told me
to write when I got settled. We landed
in New York City. I made my way from the
dock to the airport and on to San Antonio.
When I think back on that trip, it was quite the big adventure. I still refer to that journey as my North
Atlantic Cruise. I think that trip
proved to me that I was pretty much ready to look after myself.
When I was a girl, my mother used old sayings to teach us
lessons….I found myself years later reciting them to my own daughter, even when
I swore that I would not! For instance, “Pretty is as pretty does,”
“Beauty suffers,” “Men are like streetcars….if you miss one, another one will
be along in 15 minutes.” I will say I still live by some of those
sayings…such as “Give it a lick and a promise” in my approach to
housework!
Jan E. Starnes
My twin sister and I were born a little over 2 months
premature on January 1, 1947. As it was
in a small town, and we both weighed in at 3 lbs., the doctor told my Mom and
Dad to take us home as we were going to die anyway. So they took us home and as we were so
little, they used a dresser drawer and a pillow for our bed. My sister had to be fed every 2 hours with an
eye dropper and I was taken care of in between those times. My Dad had to work so my Mom really had to
assume most of the responsibility. It is
now 63 years later and my sister and I are both doing well. I always admired my Mom for her strength and
am thankful she decided not to let the Doctor’s words influence her. Although it took several months, she did what
it took to nurture us and help us to become healthy babies.
Jeanette Lawrence
When I was a girl,
I lived in Thailand. I spoke the native language to my mother,
who learned languages easily, but not to my father. He and I spoke
English in a sea of Thai. One day he took me to the market so we could
buy my mother a painting for Mother's Day. He and the seller could not
understand each other, so my Dad asked me, at age 5, to translate. I
felt really important, and I loved sharing a big secret with my Dad.
When my parents divorced many years later, I inherited the
painting. It hangs in my house today and reminds me that my parents were
once in love, and that my father had a lot to do with shaping me into the
person I am.
Jessica Howard
When I was a girl,
I prayed to God for three things (I thought of him as a Genie). I wanted
Boys, Boobs, and a more exciting life than my grandma who didn't seem at all
exciting. Today, I have 3 brothers, 3 sons, a husband who passed away,
gobs of male friends, and of course my first love, my daddy, all boys, who
love me. Of course I have boobs, I am a woman! And that
exciting life? Well, I discovered my grandmother was a political activist
in Russia during WWII and a very generous woman. I am the chief public
relations officer of the San Antonio Ladies Empowering Group and teach at the
Gateway to College program here on Campus.
When I was a little girl, my life seemed worry free and full
of delightful pastimes i.e. playing
jacks, jumping rope and watching “novelas”.
However, my fondest memory is helping my mom sell tamales and tortillas
to the principal and teachers at my elementary school. My mom’s value of hard work and dedication
was certainly passed on to her children.
Despite her single hand at upbringing six of us, as a widow at the young
age of thirty-one, we all have acquired a formal or technical education and
have successful careers. I am grateful
for all that she did to instill this core value. It has made me who I am today!
Sara Samano
When I was a girl, my mother came to SAC to get her GED and
start work on her Associates degree. She majored in Photography and eventually
became the Photo Editor for the Ranger.
She would work long hours developing her eloquent
photographs. Sometimes I would wait for her at the secretary’s (Molly) desk,
swiveling endlessly in a chair. Bored, but quiet. Tired of the books I brought
along.
On occasion, Mr. (Dub) Daugherty would come over, insert a
page into the typewriter and growl “Write a story.”
I would plunk something out to the best of my ability and
take it over to him.
He would mark it up and tell me to do it again. And again.
And again. I was eight years old when
this started.
Martha ES Buchanan, M.Ed.
When I was a
Girl
I grew up in San Antonio, TX. My parents divorced when
I was 5 and my dad died when I was 13. When I was 17, I left home.
It was up to me to finish high school in a school where I knew no one.
Once I graduated, I went to college and worked three jobs to make ends
meet. There were some days I didn’t know how I was going to eat. By the 3rd
semester my GPA had taken a nose dive. It was then I realized that I
needed to make a choice: do this college thing or drop out. I chose to persevere
because I knew that a college degree equaled freedom, freedom from poverty,
freedom from low self esteem, freedom from ignorance, and a great opportunity
for a better life. I graduated with my degree in Biology and went on to
receive a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. None of this came
without sacrifice, hard work, and sheer determination. No one really
thought I would finish high school much less college. Guess I showed
them.
Jeanette Bunch
Dad never said
no to buying books. Mom sewed us beautiful clothes. Respect, compassion and
industry ruled. In his pharmacy, I helped Dad serve the infirm. As a
church volunteer, Mom instilled: Comfort the old, teach the young. Dad and I
read the newspaper, starting with “Brenda Starr, Star Reporter.” After
kindergarten, while Mom ironed, I watched “Dark Shadows.” When President
Eisenhower’s funeral pre-empted the supernatural soap, I complained bitterly.
From her garden, Mom sharply condemned my misplaced priority. In anger, my
father once — only once — promised a spanking and kept that promise. Justice
dispensed, his sunny smile proved he forgave and forgot. But I will never
forget. Please note my new e-mail address using the
district's new domain: alamo.edu. (8-09)
Irene L. Abrego
When I was a young girl, I worked with the Neighborhood Youth
Corps (NYC). Through this
experience, I met my mentor, whose
interest and influence in attaining a college education, provided the motivation, determination and
perseverance I needed to graduate . I
was the first and the oldest of five in my family to acquire a college
education. I am certain my achievement
was a model for my five siblings whom all have acquired a formal or technical
education and have successful careers!
I grew up on a farm, and my cousins and I were expected to
hoe in the cotton fields each summer. We
whined mightily about the task, but in retrospect it was my mother who worked
like a dog. She would get up early,
prepare a big farm breakfast for the whole family, hoe alongside us but work
twice as fast, prepare the big noon
meal, take us to the pool in town for the afternoon, hoe again in the late
evening, then prepare dinner for us.
Working hard and doing her best was expected of my farmwife mother, and
I expect no less of myself today. My
mother’s “no excuses” attitude shaped my work ethic, and now I show up to do my
job to the best of my ability, regardless of the circumstances in my life.
Tandy Schoolcraft