Above and Beyond
Student of the Week: Maria Alicia Mendoza
“It feels good coming back to school. Education has come a long way since I have been in school and it’s even better for us now with STC providing free semesters. Coming back to college I thought I was going to be a number, but my professors take care of me just like I take care of my kids, and that’s so different from when I first started.”
Born with a passion for helping others, Maria Alicia Mendoza said it was time to begin helping herself by fulfilling a dream for a better education.
In fact, volunteering and giving back is one of her core beliefs inspired by her mother and father. As part of a service-learning project at STC, which requires five hours of volunteerism or extracurricular collegiate involvement, Maria has organized a cancer awareness trail ride with proceeds to benefit a patient diagnosed with cancer.
“I thank God my family and I are in good health, but I’ve always said ‘You never know’,” Maria continued to say “My family has always managed somehow, and we have been very fortunate. For the last 12 or 13 years, if someone comes and tells me or even if I hear about someone going through a difficult time, you can always find me helping in some way.
“I have always had a passion for helping others… always,” she said.
Born and raised in La Joya, Maria graduated from La Joya High School in 1985 and immediately went to work after graduation. Opting to begin her career in education and raise a family, it would not be until fall of 2021 that she decided to fulfill her dream of returning to college.
“I have always wanted to come back, but it was difficult as a single parent, even though it has always been in the back of my mind. So once my children graduated from college I decided to finish what I started,” ‘why now?’ because I feel it’s something I need to do for myself.”
“I have always told my kids ‘go to school and go to college’ yet it is something I still hadn’t done myself.”
Along with her volunteerism, Maria is an actively involved student in the day-to-day operations of her online courses at STC --- interacting with her classmates in weekly discussion posts. One post in particular entitled, "Who is Your Inspiration?" prompted her to reflect on those who have pushed her to succeed, and who enabled her to return to college after several decades.
“Coming to school has been very scary and very challenging, but at the same time it has been very rewarding,” Maria said. “Working full-time and going to school full-time, there have been days where I’ve cried, but so far I’m here, doing well, and I am really happy.”
“It feels good coming back to school,” she said. “Education has come a long way since I have been in school and it’s even better for us now with STC providing free semesters. Coming back to college I thought I was going to be a number, but my professors take care of me just like I take care of my kids, and that’s so different from when I first started.”