Minatare High School senior Juana Perez said her parents and grandparents never had an opportunity to graduate from high school because they had to work to help their families who were in poverty. Juana said her parents wanted a different life for their children, which is why they’ve sacrificed so much and have battled through tough times financially to make sure their children were able to get a good education. Juana’s older siblings – Mayra, Miriam and Yovan – became the first generation in their family to graduate from high school, and now Juana is excited to do the same, as she’ll graduate May 9 as Minatare High School’s valedictorian.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
MINATARE – Every now and then, Juana Perez of Minatare and her siblings would sit down and listen to their parents, Lorenzo and Maria, share stories of their life growing up.
Often, life was a struggle for Lorenzo and Maria, Juana said. There were times when it was a challenge for them to earn enough money to put food on the table. So, in order to have a better life, Lorenzo immigrated to America when he 17 years old, Juana said. Maria followed him, and they got married when she was about 25.
They lived in Georgia for a while, where her dad picked oranges. His wife took care of things in their two-bedroom apartment, which Lorenzo and Maria shared with four other relatives.
“They were making enough money to survive,” Juana said.
But they lived in a bad neighborhood, Juana said, where Maria didn’t always feel safe.
“People would steal stuff all the time, and people would plan the right time to attack people, so it was scary to be alone,” Juana said. “My mom said she stayed locked in the apartment all the time.”
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