“My first experiences with sexism were within my own family.

“I’m the only girl. I have five brothers. I had a Christian upbringing. I’m still a Christian. But my father would use the Bible to kind of diminish my voice. He would say, ‘In the Bible it says that women need to be silent.’ Like the woman is the more fragile being. So always kind of ingraining in me that submission in women and the dominance of man.

“Growing up, I also saw domestic violence at home. At an early age, I had to stand up to my dad and really say, ‘What you’re doing isn’t right. I don’t agree with it.’ I think that’s where our relationship stunted.

“As a 9-year-old kind of living in fear of your own father, it hits you hard. But I think it’s when I realized that I didn’t want to see my mom get hurt. So I couldn’t be quiet about it. This isn’t to say that I don’t love my father. I just think that for many years, I did resent him.

“The steps I took in my life to really excel in school and find opportunities for myself came from thinking about the life that we had with my dad. I didn’t want that life for my mom. I didn’t want my little brothers to think that was a normal way to treat women.

“I was always a curious kid. But when I started seeing those things at home, I really started to dive into school. That was my one safe space. That was where I could really prove that I was capable. That I am worthy of having my ideas heard. That I have a lot to offer.

“When I got a full academic and merit-leadership scholarship to college, my dad never said congratulations or anything. I think deep down, there was still that part of me that wanted to prove myself to him. That those things you said about my mom, or about me, or about women in general, they’re not true. Because look at what I’m doing. Look at the things I’m accomplishing.

“I think I did hold it against him, the way he saw me as the weaker one, the one that needed to be quiet, and not to take up too much space. And I was showing him, well, I’m going to do the opposite of that. I’m going to take up as much space as I need.”

— Azalia Sprecher

Azalia was in the first graduating class at IMPACT Early College High School, earning her high school diploma and associate’s degree from Lee College. She received a full scholarship from the Posse Foundation to attend Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia, and graduated in 2018. She is now a paralegal, and hopes to attend law school.

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“I was born bilaterally and profoundly deaf, which basically means that I cannot hear at all in either ear. The only reason I’m able to do this (interview) is because of a special hearing aid. If I took it out, I could not hear anything. Not even if I sat next to a jet taking off.

“My biggest challenge is probably being in crowded environments when there are a lot of noises overlapping. If someone tries to talk to me, it’s so hard to make out what they’re saying. And it’s difficult for me to talk when it’s like that.

“Also, I don’t know if it’s the disability itself or just my personality, but I find it hard to socialize with people my age because I know I’m different. Very different. So I’ve never been the most outgoing person. Walking up to random people and starting conversations, I cannot.

“I don’t know the whole story. I was little, and we don’t talk much about it. But I got my first hearing aid just before I turned 1. It used to be kind of big. I would have to wear this big box on my chest for batteries or something. But it got smaller and smaller through the years, like phones did before they recently started getting bigger again.

“My parents worked with me a lot when I was a little kid. We read together often, and they never gave up on me. I think their perseverance helped make me into who I am today.”

— Madilyn Lawrence

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The post Perseverance helps student overcome deafness appeared first on The Baytown Project.

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The post Student finds balance in Indian, American cultures appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m Indian American. My parents emigrated from India after my dad found a good engineering job over here. It was about two years before I was born.

“I was bilingual at a very young age. Since my parents really emphasized education, I was prepared for school from that standpoint. But I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to integrate socially. What was I supposed to wear? How was I supposed to fit in? I didn’t know what the social cues were going to be, so I kind of had to pick that up myself.

“Through the years, I’ve become pretty well adjusted. But even today, I’m still trying to balance my cultures. I travel to India almost every two years. I’m going again this winter. But it’s always a little odd for me because the cultures are so different.

“My friends and I founded an international club at our school. We all celebrate our diversity and promote cultural awareness. Through that, I have become more confident in talking about my heritage.”

— Divya Singh

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The post Students celebrate diversity, cultural awareness appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m a senior at IMPACT Early College High School. I’ll be graduating in June with my high school diploma and my associate’s degree from Lee College. I’m interested in studying chemical engineering. For the past couple of years, I’ve been taking a lot of upper division math classes, calculus and stuff like that.

“I’ve been ranked number one in my class since freshman year, so I’ve been trying to keep up with the status of valedictorian and all of that. It’s been kind of intense. My sister did it when she was at Lee High School, so I thought I might aspire to do that as well.

“My parents have always instilled in me the values of education. I’ve always tried to do my personal best. So here I am now in my senior year, and I’m trying to keep it up. It can feel like a lot of pressure. Since a lot of my friends are also up there in the rankings, we talk about it sometimes. I feel like everybody at school knows which number you are. So there’s this stereotype like, oh, my gosh, she probably only does school work. But it’s not like that. I have many other interests. I feel like I’m more than just my grades. I’m more than just my number.”

— Divya Singh, 18

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• Students celebrate diversity, cultural awareness
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Here’s something you don’t see every day: A 15-year-old hanging out on a summer morning reading “1984” by George Orwell.

“It’s for a class. I’ve never read it. But I love books. I read just for fun in my spare time.”

What’s your favorite book?
“I don’ t think I have a favorite. But there’s this one I really liked. I can’t remember the title. It’s where this police guy is chasing this criminal. And the criminal is a mastermind, like, wow. But the police guy captures the criminal, and he ends up killing the criminal’s wife who was pregnant. The criminal gets back at him by grabbing the officer’s daughter. Then there’s this quest to try to find the daughter. At the end, they find her six feet underground with only a few small oxygen tanks to keep her breathing. It was crazy. I thought it was going to be romantic, but it wasn’t. It was an amazing book.”

Why do you like those kinds of books?
“I like when there’s a mystery, but with a twisted plot. You think it’s going in one direction, but it turns out to be something completely different. I just find that kind of story so interesting.”

— Erika Sepulveda

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“I’ve always been interested in science. My favorite class right now is chemistry, learning about all the chemical reactions that occur inside the body.

“I like to know stuff, like why everything happens the way it does. For example, why do children learn the most when they’re newborn to 3 years old? It just fascinates me how the brain works. Our brain drives us. It controls our body, our movements, everything. I want to know more about how that happens. I want to be a pediatric neurologist when I get older.

“I feel pretty lucky going to IMPACT (Early College High School). It’s going to take a lot of school to become a pediatric neurologist, so I wanted to get a head start.”

— Angel Lopez, 16

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Several times a month I walk the campus of Lee College in search of students to interview. That’s the fun part. The not-so-fun part is finding a place to park.

On this particular morning I opted for the auxiliary lot down the street. Good call, as I quickly found a spot.

Unfortunately, my two-minute walk to campus turned into a 15-minute wait because of a passing train. But it was worth the delay.

Lorena Moraes was looking at her phone when I approached her on the gazebo adjacent to the Rebel Roost snack bar. She was between classes, the best time to have a quick conversation.

I thought she might be attending IMPACT Early College High School. That’s where students take both high school and college classes to get a jump-start on their college degree.

It turns out that Lorena is 17 and already a full-time student at Lee College. She is in her second semester studying pre-engineering.

On her own

Lorena arrived in Baytown in May 2015 as a foreign exchange student. Her father, back home in Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, wanted her to experience different cultures and learn how to be on her own.

She has done just that while attending Ross S. Sterling High School, graduating last spring, then deciding to stay in Baytown to get her college basics out of the way.

It was scary at first for Lorena, who thought she was going to live somewhere in the northern section of the United States.

“Then I found out I was going to Texas. I was like, no, I don’t want to live on a farm. I don’t want to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning to take the bus to school. Please, don’t do that to me,” she recalled.

“But my dad told me it’s the place where you least expect something good to happen that sometimes gives you the most important opportunity of your life.”

It took Lorena a while to become used to her new surroundings and a new language. There was a moment early on when she wanted to “get back on that plane and go home.”

After getting to know her host family and making other friends, though, Lorena began to enjoy her new life.

“Now I love staying here,” she said. “Although, sometimes you’re homesick. You get lonely and miss your family, especially around the holidays.”

Family connections

Lorena’s father made the trip for her high school graduation. And she got to spend six weeks back home during the summer break.

But Lorena regrets not being there when her grandfather died several months ago. “Still, I was happy that he got to know I was in college already.”

Lorena worries that transferring to a four-year university may put a strain on the family’s finances. But if all goes well, she will continue her studies to become a chemical engineer.

During her time here, Lorena has grown up fast.

“It’s great, because I don’t like to lose too much time. I like to be doing a lot of different things and keeping busy,” she said.

As for following her father’s dream that she explore the world at a young age?

“I would tell anybody to be a foreign exchange student, because you grow up a lot faster,” Lorena said. “You’re like that kid living with your parents, and then you go to another country and you see what the rest of the world is really like. It’s been an amazing experience.”

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“I have severe anxiety and depression. I’ve had anxiety for most of my life, and then I had this really bad breakup. I also was feeling a lot of stress about finishing in the top 10 of my class.

“I was part of the IMPACT (Early College High School) program, and I was in seven classes. Out of the classes I was taking here (at Lee College), I ended up dropping all but two. In one of those I managed a C, and I got an incomplete in the other. It was just way too stressful. For some reason, the classroom setting really messed me up. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t do anything.

“Then the start of this semester was really, really difficult for me. But after I was prescribed a psychiatric service dog and Violet started coming to school with me, it’s made a big difference.

“We’ve had Violet for 10 years, so she’s seen me when I start getting anxious. When I take her to class, if there’s an extra chair, I pull it close and have her sit next to me. She just lies there and chills. Whenever she senses that I’m about to have an anxiety attack or start panicking, she’ll get my attention. She’ll nose my arm or put her paws up on the table. That helps pause me and bring me back.

“She’s still a service dog in training. We’re still working on her leash manners and getting her to settle down at times. But I don’t know what I’d do without her right now.”

— Therynn Ibert

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“A lot of people think I’m older than 16, but I don’t feel like it. I’ve been handed alcoholic beverages before, but I say, ‘Hey, I’m only 16, man. I don’t want you to get in trouble.’ I think it’s kind of cool and flattering in some sense. Maybe it’s my build or my facial hair that fools them.”

Do you consider yourself a mature person?
“I think so, although I can turn it off and on. For instance, I was just playing Pokémon Go. And I really like funny-looking backpacks, video games and stuff like that. I can be pretty immature sometimes. But when it comes to school and work, I can just (snaps his finger) turn on the switch and be mature. I think it has a lot to do with parenting. My dad told me, ‘If you have a job to do, do it. If you don’t do it right, they’re not going to trust you to do the job again.’ I haven’t forgotten that.”

— Brandon Galvan

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