Houston, TX March 22, 2005

Faces In The Crowd

After sacrifice, Ortega finally earns degree
Translator earns GED after push by her daughter

By BARRETT GOLDSMITH
Chronicle Correspondent

Blanca Ortega had always thought about finishing high school, but she never had. All she needed was a push in the right direction.That push came in August of 2001 when her daughter, Alejandra, now 10, said she wanted her mother to go back and finish high school."I kept saying, 'I'm too old to go back,' " Ortega said. "But (Alejandra) would always say 'No mom, you're never too old.' I felt kind of embarrassed, but she pushed me through it."

Finishing school

Ortega, 37, didn't enroll at the nearest high school. She signed up for classes at Houston Community College and began working toward a General Education Development degree.When Ortega wasn't in class or looking after Alejandra, she would study her course material, often with the help of HCC instructors Kimberly Williams and Linda Prejean. Although she had some difficulty with algebra, most of Ortega's subjects gave her little trouble.Six months after enrolling at HCC, Ortega received her GED on Jan. 22, 2002. She accepted a position as a teaching assistant at Dogan Elementary School less than a month after graduating. Ortega now serves as the school's official translator for Spanish-speaking parents and pupils.

A sacrifice for family

When Ortega was 5 years old, her family moved to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico. Ortega struggled in school for a few years because of her unfamiliarity with English, but she gradually picked up the language and became comfortable in her surroundings.But that changed one afternoon in 1984. Ortega, who was in the 10th grade at North Shore High School, came home from school for a family emergency. Her mother, Esperanza Sophia, died of a heart attack and complications of her diabetes.Ortega, the youngest of five children, dropped out of school to help around the house while her father Modesto, now 74, worked for a railroad company."You feel like you're lost or something, like you don't know where you are going, or what you are supposed to be doing," Ortega said.

Finding her way

Twenty years later, Ortega has found her way. She and Alejandra live in southwest Houston with her husband Mike, 46, who works as a house painter. They will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in August.Ortega hopes to one day return to school and become a bilingual teacher, but she said that dream will have to be put on hold until she can save enough money.Language, she said, should not be an obstacle to success in the United States."Whatever it takes, people need to learn English," Ortega said. "It's holding people back, and it shouldn't be an excuse, because it's something you can change.