Joseline Cano
Co-Editor-in- Chief
canojose@my.dom.edu
A month shy of her 10th birthday, Blanca Rendon and her family settled in Chicago after crossing the Mexican-American border unlawfully. They were fleeing a life of poverty, where Rendon was almost forced to leave school in the second grade because she was a girl. When she did have the opportunity to go, she went with no shoes and only carrying spare pieces of paper from her used notebooks. Her goal automatically became to pursue the type of rigorous education she had always craved.
Despite not knowing any English, Rendon went straight into the fourth grade when she arrived. As her parents began working for tips at a local car wash, Rendon’s teacher was giving her daily tests on a computer where she had to match up the words with a picture and repeat them outloud. Regardless of her teacher’s attempts, she refused to speak the language.
“I couldn’t even turn a computer on. I had never seen a computer. I come from a really small town where we don’t see cars, we don’t have computers, we don’t even have electricity,” Rendon said, “To come here and suddenly see all my classmates using computers and watching TV was a drastic change.”
Fortunately for Rendon, at the end of her first year of school in the United States, her teacher gave her an assignment to read a book and translate it back to her. To the teacher’s surprise, she was able to do it. With only one year in the country, Rendon was able to transition to full English courses. This was shocking news because Rendon felt she wasn’t able to fully comprehend the language yet, so she began using the dictionary to translate her homework.
By the age of 12, Rendon started thinking ahead and decided she wanted to continue to pursue an education. Her english wasn’t great, but her teachers saw her love for learning and how bright she was despite the challenges. She knew she wanted to continue into high school, but plans for a higher education came with the prospect of funds. That same year, Rendon decided to join her parents at the car wash.
“It wasn’t even an hourly pay,” she said, “I had to wash 15 cars. Every car counted as five minutes so I had to wash 15 cars to make five dollars.”
Rendon continued her job there because it was the only place that would allow an undocumented 12-year-old to provide labor. As she worked, she began her high school education with the help of her principal who not only helped her make the transition, but was impressed with her merit. Given this, he had her taking Advanced Placement classes from the start of her sophomore year.
While in high school, her principal and teachers took it upon themselves to help her succeed as much as she could. Rendon had the opportunity to volunteer as a teacher’s assistant and at a daycare.
“I always knew I wanted to become a teacher,” she said, “I want to be able to go back to and teach in Mexico,not only because I miss it but also because the students over there need a better education and value it differently than they do here.”
Two years later, Rendon’s good grades rewarded her with an early graduation. In spite of the good news, Rendon was anxious about her future She wanted to go to college to be a teacher but felt like it was a dream she would never be able to reach.
“Without documentation, I could not get that license because it’s required to have citizenship. I couldn’t go to college, spend so much money, and then do nothing,” she said. Her dream was put on hold as she planned out her life synonymous to her parents: working 60 hours a week to make the bare minimum.
This is when her principal and DACA stepped into the picture. Not wanting to see her intellect go to waste, Rendon’s principal offered to pay for her first year of community college in City Colleges of Chicago. Ecstatic to be able to continue, Rendon applied for DACA and was granted acceptance. She began working three jobs at the car wash, at a restaurant, and as a babysitter for three younger girls, all in hopes of saving enough money to pay for her remaining semesters.
On Dec. 2015, Rendon received her associate’s degree. She didn’t want to stop there so she enrolled in an extra semester before she began her university search. The problem was that all the universities she liked and felt like she would excel the best in, were too expensive.
“I thought if I could save enough money while in community college for one semester in a four year university, I wouldn’t have to take any gap years. It all became too much for me and I thought I couldn’t do this anymore. It was just not going to happen.”
Rendon did not apply for any university. She began searching for jobs with better pay and on her hunt, was able to locate a flyer for an open position as an airplane washer at O’Hare Airport. With years of car washing experience under her belt, Rendon walked into the interview process expecting to start washing planes within the week, but walked out with an even better offer at hand. She had been given an office position within the airport. She was now going to be making more than her three jobs combined, working only 45 hours a week compared to the 60, all while she sat behind multiple screens, monitoring arrivals and sending out workers to inspect the planes.
Here she worked for a year and half before coming across a friend who attended Dominican University. After shadowing for a day and meeting with admission counselors who expressed their desire to have her be a part of the community, Rendon was able to go back to school in a setting where she felt included and respected.
“I remember walking around campus lost and people would come up to me to ask if I needed help or would just stop to say ‘hi’. That’s when I knew this is where I wanted to be. Dominican was welcoming from the start and always made me feel like I was desired despite not being a legal U.S. citizen,” Rendon said.
Now, when things were looking up for her, there’s an obstacle trying to hold her back.
After the announcement of the rescinding of DACA on Sept. 5, Rendon was unsure of where her life would lead.
“I’m only going to be able to work at my job for another year. Now what? I’m trying not to let it get to me too much because I know I need to keep focusing on school,” she said, “If it hadn’t had been for DACA, I wouldn’t be working at the airport and I wouldn’t be at Dominican. It was because of DACA that I was able to do all that I’ve done.”
Rendon remains hopeful and will continue to pursue her higher education.
“We have always found a way to make things happen for us, and we will continue to find other ways,” she said.