Perla Covarrubias moved to the United States from Tam- pico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, at age 15. Tampico, a port city, is located six miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Her mother and sis- ter traveled to Corpus Christi with her.
Jumping to present day, she has been a resident of Texas for over 10 years. Not only has she taken on the role as a U.S. citizen, but as mother to her two daughters (11 and 6 years of old). Covarrubias also takes on the title as church leader at her church. It is this position that inspires her to become a counselor or church minister.
“I want to be able to help people,” Covarrubias said.
Contributed photo
Perla Covarrubias celebrates her Mexican heritage at her church. Covarrubias was born in Tam- pico, Tamaulipas, Mexico and moved to Corpus Christi when she was 15 years old.
And so her journey to reach this goal begins. In 2013 she received her GED and then was accepted into the “Education is our Freedom” GED College Scholarship Program. This particular program chooses qualified students from diverse and local educational GED institutions who are eager to acquire a higher education.
These scholarships help students to pursue their dreams of attending college and achieving a degree in their desired eld. With this scholarship Covarrubias is able to take part in the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Program at Del Mar College, run by Jennifer Oden.
This program gives students the tools to improve their spoken, written and grammatical English. The courses are for students born in other countries as well as students who were born in the United States but who learned another language before English — students such Covarrubias.
“It is not easy, but it is not impossible,” Covarrubias added.
For those not on a scholarship, the classes are affordable and are the lowest foreign student tuition rates in the nation. The program has a language lab for students’ language learning in American English pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, composition, conversation and reading.
Covarrubias’ dream of helping people is becoming a reality thanks to these programs offered through Del Mar College.
“I am blessed to be here in the United States and at Del Mar,” Covarrubias said. “I thank them for making my dreams come true.”
