Written by William McKenzie, a member of our Streetzine Editorial Advisory Board, and published in the Southern Illinoisian:
"Julissa Vargas earned her degree in criminal justice from the University of North Texas at Dallas in 2018, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. Her path to college started long before that, though. Her journey began as a first-grade participant in the Children and Youth Program at The Stewpot, a ministry of the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas that serves individuals and families at-risk of becoming homeless. (Acknowledgement: I volunteer at The Stewpot and serve on its governing board.)
Like many of the other young participants, Julissa began attending weekly Saturday classes at The Stewpot in elementary school. Volunteers tutored her and other students, while providing an opportunity for fun and recreation on Saturdays.
Later, as a high school student, Julissa participated in another Stewpot program that took her and fellow participants on college visits. The trips opened a new realm of possibilities. As she told the STREETZine, The Stewpot’s street paper, “I started to say I wanted to go to college. I heard from others who talked about where they went to college, how you can apply and that there are resources to help you go.”
The instructive point here is that a house of worship became a point of entry into the larger American mainstream for a child whose family immigrated from Mexico...."
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