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FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019
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EN R S T Gvolume 119,
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‘I owed it to myself ’ One graduation. A whole community. Editor’s Note: This story is part of the semester-long, collaborative series “First-Gen UT,” which will share the stories of first-generation Longhorns. Stories will be produced in partnership with UT’s chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Hispanic Journalists Association and the National Lesbian Gay Journalists Association. By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
earing the outdated class ring she ordered years ago along with her cap and gown, Veronica Rivera looked out in awe at the crowd of 30 people waiting to greet her. It was Dec. 8, the fall 2018 graduation ceremony, but it was also a moment of triumph for the many family, friends and University staff who supported her during her eight years of personal and academic struggles. They had all come to know her by her nickname, Vero, for the bright flowers she wears daily in her hair and her shining smile. But, on that day, it was nearly impossible to hold back tears — for both Vero and her loved ones. She looked into the crowd, smiling at each person as she struggled to not cry. When she finally caught sight of her mom in the crowd, Vero quickly walked, almost ran, up to her, taking her into her arms. That’s when the tears came. They fell down Leticia Rivera’s
face and soon down Vero’s, as the two hugged each other for several minutes. As Vero moved towards other people in the crowd, the tears continued. Watching her daughter, Leticia Rivera pointed to the cotton balls decorating her daughter’s graduation cap and told Vero’s roommate Deana Libby a story of their family picking cotton in the fields of the Rio Grande Valley. Vero’s grandpa, pictured on the cap in a black-and-white photo, had been the fastest cotton picker, she said. They then exchanged jokes about how Vero’s bejeweled cap — decorated with flowers, of course — couldn’t be missed in the crowd. “I couldn’t really see much from far away, but as soon as Vero walked onstage, I could tell it was her because of the cap. It was blinding,” Libby said laughing. But Vero, a first-generation college student, almost didn’t make it to the graduation stage.
The long road to graduation
Growing up in San Benito, Texas, Vero was an overinvolved child. In high school, she joined band, yearbook, the drill team and even the wrestling team. She was excited by any opportunity to learn. But Vero said she also joined all these activities to escape difficulties at home, such as her complex relationship with her mom, who was hardworking but struggled with alcoholism. This complex relationship with her mom also drew Vero close to her grandpa, who she describes as her “everything.” With the support of her grandpa, relatives,
juan figueroa | the daily texan staff file TOP: Vero embraces Brandelyn Flunder, the Multicultural Engagement Center Director. “She to me is the ultimate success story,” Flunder said. ABOVE: Vero was devastated by the death of her grandfather, Canuto Rivera Sr., her freshman year. But she carried the memory of him throughout her graduation with pictures of him, like this one. BOTTOM: Vero, a fall 2018 first-generation college graduate, decorated her graduation cap to honor her family and upbringing. She bejeweled it with a photo of her deceased grandfather, cotton like the one her relatives often picked in South Texas, the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Spanish saying “We f---ing did it!”
school counselors and teachers, Vero made decent grades, though she admits she “never went above and beyond to get an A.” In her high school English class, she was assigned an essay for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a scholarship for minority college students, during the fall. But Vero waited until the spring to type her essay on an electric typewriter since her family didn’t have a computer. But answering the prompt about hardships was easy since she had “enough of those to write about.” The program thought so, too, so she earned the Gates scholarship along with her acceptance to UT. Arriving at UT in the fall semester of 2010 as a political communications major, Vero quickly got involved on campus, working with the Multicultural Engagement Center and eventually becoming an orientation adviser. But she encountered a series of events that would complicate her path toward a
college degree. It didn’t take long for the stress of college and her family life, including sick relatives and financial constraints, to add up. During her second semester at UT, Vero was hospitalized and eventually diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She tried to cope and continue with school that semester, but one week before her finals, her grandfather passed away back home. Being unable to say goodbye to her grandfather took a toll. “I just remember losing a lot of hope and faith,” Vero said. “I had had people pass away before, but he was the person I was the closest to out of everyone in my family. Losing him was just very difficult.” Going back home became too painful for Vero, so she stayed in Austin that summer. But as she tried to cope with the loss, Vero said she also began drinking more heavily at parties. Her next seven years at UT
were a blur, riddled with more personal and academic struggles — sexual assault, two more hospitalizations from her declining mental health and financial hardships after she lost her Gates scholarship. These circumstances led Vero to take multiple medical withdrawals or course load reductions and, in some cases, fail her classes. By 2014, her expected graduation year, it became evident she wouldn’t walk the stage that spring.
‘Light at the end of the tunnel’
Vero struggled to ask for help, but during this time she began opening up to University staff like Brandelyn Flunder, the director of the Multicultural Engagement Center. “I don’t think she necessarily ever vocalized that she was not graduating. There was always a plan in place, but as the years progressed those plans changed a lot,” Flunder said. “I was more concerned with, ‘How is she
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