Public Relations
Student-employee proud of her U.S. citizenship
ROGERS (Wednesday, August 29, 2007) – Martha Cortes had to come to grips with her reality before she could become a U.S. citizen earlier this summer.
Cortes is a wife, a mother to three children, a community volunteer, a student at NorthWest Arkansas Community College and a full-time administrative assistant at the NWACC Adult Education Center.
She is a person of ambition and inspiration.
She took and passed her U.S. Citizenship test in late June, five months after she applied.
She said citizenship “means a lot to me.”
“I remember years back thinking, ‘I’m not going to become a U.S. citizen,’” she said. “But I knew I was not going back to live in Mexico anymore. I love this place. I make my home here.”
She said she needed “to get to know this country better and show my kids the great things in this country so that they can be proud of it, too.
“They were tired of me being homesick for Mexico.”
Citizenship did not take as long to earn as obtaining legal residency, which was nearly seven years, she said. She applied Jan. 23 and became a U.S. citizen on June 20.
She took an American Government class at NWACC twice. She studied the “100 question” flash cards ad nausea.
“I took American Government again for my own benefit,” she added.
Adult Education Director Ben Aldama and instructors Kathy Schneider and Danny Sheffield supported her through the citizenship process, she said. Her family and Sheffield accompanied her to Fort Smith that day to take the test.
Cortes was in the first ESL class that Sheffield taught at NWACC. She also credits Adult Education instructors, GED examiners and others for her accomplishments.
Today, she proudly proclaims of her most recent accomplishment: “I can stand up in this land and say, ‘This is my country.’ I can show my children how proud I am of my country.’
“Otherwise, if I don’t, then I have one foot in Mexico and one foot in the United States.”
Education has fueled her inspiration, she said.
“Education really changes things, the way we think about each other, ourselves and our country,” she said. “After working here (at the Adult Ed Center), I’m better able to focus more on what I want to do, which is to teach.”
She’s not sure at what level she wants to teach. That’s something to be discovered through her course-work, she said.
Cortes has been exposed to learners from kindergarten on up. She has volunteer taught at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic School in Rogers the past two years. She teaches every other Wednesday night. She works with adult learners every day.
Cortes attends NWACC classes on a part-time basis.
She is pursuing an associate of arts degree. She’s enrolled this fall in Principals of Biology with Eric Vaught, Introduction to Education with Regina Ryel, Survey of Mathematical Structures with Brooke Rea and an online course in History of Arkansas.
Students taking the GED and other courses at the center who know her ask, where does she find time and energy to do all that, plus spend – as she calls it – “quality time” with her family?
Her answer? “Simple, I’m very committed, very motivated.”
Cortes has two girls and boy. Her husband is Fabian. Their children are Yareli 13, Diana 10, and David 5.
Cortes spoke no English and had no friends when she arrived in Rogers.
Cortes, now 33, came to Arkansas from Durango, Mexico, following her husband. When they got married in Mexico, he already had a job in Rogers.
She came north with him “because there are not many opportunities for employment in Mexico and I needed something different.” That was 13 years ago.
The “something different” Cortes needed was enrolling in an ESL class at NWACC.
“I started evening classes at the Adult Education Center at the beginning level, and then with my practice and good attendance I moved to upper levels,” she told the Arkansas Times (Little Rock) newspaper, which profiled her last fall in a cover story.
At the same time, she was on a list of immigrants waiting for work permits so that they could work legally. She had to wait five years for a permit – a lot longer than citizenship took.
Then she was hired at the first place she applied for a job, the Rogers School District.
“I worked there for three years, but working as a janitor just encouraged me to keep working on my English skills.” Today, she speaks fluent English.
When the chance to work part-time at the Adult Education Center came along, she jumped at it. The new job increased her work skills and her self-esteem.
She was named last fall as an Outstanding Paraprofessional for 2006 at a conference of the Arkansas Association for Continuing and Adult Education.
She speaks frequently on behalf of the College about the career benefits of learning English.
The paraprofessional award further fueled her ambition.
“I was shocked,” she said of the award. “I didn’t suspect a thing. It is a really nice honor.”
She was honored by NWACC Adult Education staff and students.
“This gives me one more reason to keep going down the path I’m on,” Cortes said. “I know I’m on the right track.”
She hopes to earn her associate’s degree and then transfer for a bachelor’s degree. Cortes was a student speaker in July 2006 at an announcement that the College was beginning a capital campaign.
She also speaks at the NWACC AMIGOs events.
“Martha’s changed over the years,” Danny Sheffield said. “Her views have expanded.
“The accolades coming to her that she accepts in a very positive way influences others to know that they also can succeed much as she has.
“Martha’s success influences everyone, particularly those in the Latino community.”
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NWACC Adult Education is located at 2800 North Second Street, Rogers. Its main number is 479-986-6911.
For questions/comments on this content, please contact Jim Hall at jhall@nwacc.ed (479) 619-4182
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