Latino success stories in higher education: A qualitative study of recent graduates from a health science center. Page: 94
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The Nurse had a normal childhood, going to public school in Puerto Rico from 1st to 12th
grade. She would go to school, come home, do her homework, play, and go to school the next
day. But two things separated the Nurse's childhood from a normal childhood in the US - an
alcoholic father and the Puerto Rican educational system.
The Nurse's alcoholic father brought chaos and uncertainty into the home. While her
father was not physically abusive to the Nurse and her brothers and sister, he was physically
abusive to their mother, hitting her and even chasing her through the house and out into the yard
one time with a butcher knife. When the Nurse began to understand what was going on in her
house, at about age 12 or 13, she fled to her grandparents' house every weekend, searching for
the peace and family atmosphere that was missing in her parents' home.
The Puerto Rican public education system differed from the US at the time. There were
no physical education classes, and courses were taught in Spanish. Since Puerto Rican schools
got their books from the US, the books were in English, but everything else in the courses,
including the homework, was in Spanish.
The Nurse was the first female grandchild on her mother's side of the family. She became
her grandmother's favorite, taking a trip with her grandparents to Europe for her quincehera, and
she fled to her grandparents' house when things became too chaotic in her own home.
When the Nurse started high school, the professors in her classes began talking with her
about going to college. The Nurse had not really focused on her studies or thought about the
possibility of going to college. When she was 15 years old, the Nurse started reading about
nursing schools based on the influence of the nurses in her neighborhood. She discovered a
program that would pay for her room, board, tuition, and give her a $10 per month stipend. The
Nurse applied and was accepted.94
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Colley, Kay Lynne. Latino success stories in higher education: A qualitative study of recent graduates from a health science center., dissertation, May 2007; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3687/m1/104/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .