Education: Notre Dame de Namur University
Abstract: Rosario Fernandez Barrientos was born on August 28, 1952 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Both of Rosario’s parents did not have a proper education; therefore they struggled raising five children. After her sister moved to the United States in 1963, Rosario, was given the opportunity to move in with her to pursue her education. On March 12, 1967, Rosario moved to the United States after a long process of getting her Visa.
There she took time to adjust to the new lifestyle after experiencing a culture shock and later enrolled in several schools in which she was unable to grasp the English language. She then enrolled at the Job Corp. in Oregon and although this was not a college, Rosario still experienced the same changes most first generation college students face. After a year of constant progression at the Job Corp., the death of Rosario’s father caused her to want to move back home. While thinking back at this moment in her life, Rosario realized that her counselors in the Job Corp. were the ones who kept her motivated and led her to becoming a first generation college student.
Upon completing her time at the Job Corp. and obtaining her GED, Rosario found a job at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. After talking to counselors at Galileo High School in San Francisco, Rosario made the decision of going back to school and earning her high school diploma. While working and supporting her family, Rosario often dreamed about continuing her education to get a college degree since she willingly declined a scholarship due to family responsibilities.
While working for Pacific Bell, Rosario’s passion for education led her to return to school once again. She enrolled at San Francisco City College for her AA but could not finish when she needed to return to her job full-time. In 1977, Rosario met her husband and when pregnant with her first daughter, she decided to go to night school to earn her AA degree. After getting divorced, Rosario received her undergraduate degree in 1999. Later in 2001, she was offered a job at the City of Menlo Park as an administrative secretary. Then after working at her new job, Rosario started her Masters program. Rosario graduated with her Masters Degree in Public Administration from Notre Dame De Namur University in 2004.
Keywords: first generation, culture shock, family responsibilities, opportunities
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