Transcript
Angeles Jacobo
Student
I haven't had a very good experience over here because when I came from Mexico, I didn't know any English. So I started school in California, then we moved to Idaho because we needed to work in the fields. We needed more money to support our family because part of our family was in Mexico, so we needed money to send to them. So we came over here to work in the fields. I was 14 when I started to work in the fields. I went to school in 9th grade; we didn't have any bilingual teacher so I was alone doing my best. I learned English by myself and it was really hard. I had a teacher who told me that I should not go to school anymore because I didn't understand anything, so I felt really bad. I told my parents that I didn't want to go to school anymore because I didn't know any English. And I was afraid to be there with people who were just staring at me and I was trying to understand what they were trying to tell me, but I couldn't. So one day, I told my dad that I was going to drop out of high school. And he said, "Don't do that because we need you to learn English, we need you to translate for us, for our family and other people. It's just embarrassing for me to go to other people and ask them to translate papers for me because I don't know any English." So I felt really bad and I decided not to drop out of high school. And I kept going to school and finally I learned English. Since I know English I have been involved in many clubs such as FHLA, Future Hispanic Leaders of America. I have attended state meetings from all over Idaho. I encourage them to go to school to study really hard and to be professional, because I know that education is the key to success. I want to be educated because my parents did not have a chance to go to school, so I want to go to school and be a role model for others as Judge Gutierrez is a role model for me.
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