WAUKESHA – Ana Gabriela La Roche, known familiarly as Gabi, truly started a new life when she got married in August 1999. First she celebrated her union at a ceremony in her native Costa Rica and later held a party for US friends and family. One guest at the northern gala turned out to be a mentor. Now a University of Wisconsin-Waukesha sophomore, Gabi, who first came to Waukesha in 1995 as a high school foreign exchange student, is on her way to becoming a Waukesha teacher. Already bilingual, she brings a needed strength to the system.
Recognizing the need for teachers with bilingual skills, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, Waukesha Public Schools and Whitewater Unified School District, along with several Madison/Janesville partners, secured a five-year US Department of Education grant in 2001 for Project SWEETT, Southeastern Wisconsin Excellence in Education through Teacher Training. The project is designed to recruit and prepare students to be licensed in bilingual education or teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), drawing participants chiefly from the ranks of school aides.
When he spoke with her at her wedding reception, Doug Evans, Gabi’s friend, mentor, and high-school history instructor at Waukesha North, suggested she work for the school system. In addition to his high regard for her personally and for her abilities, he was aware that she had begun college in Costa Rica and had acquired some business skills. He didn’t want her to get away. So he helped her get into White Rock School, the district’s bilingual elementary school. She volunteered there at first – before she got her green card – did work for the school psychologist, and applied for and won the position of secretary to the principal when it opened up. She likes it. “I’m never bored,” she says. “When I was little, I wanted to be a nun and then a teacher. I love children.”
SWEETT opened a new horizon for her. As chair of the Waukesha School District Bilingual and English-as-a Second-Language Programming, Evans knew about the program and suggested it to Gabi. It needed people like her, he believed: “She worked very hard in school, has incredible personal skills, and is very bright.” SWEETT offered an opportunity: scholarship money and a program that would lead to her becoming a teacher. The project began in January 2001, and by fall Gabi had started work on the degree at UW-Waukesha.
“It went really smoothly. I watched a video about the program, wrote a couple essays” and then enrolled at UW-Waukesha. By the end of this summer, she will be able to transfer to UW-Whitewater to complete her degree program.
Even though she is married – to her blind date for prom – and holds down a full-time job, Gabi says it has not been too difficult. “I have a schedule, and I keep with it. I go to the library right after work three times a week and spend a few hours on the weekend.”
She is very pleased to be doing what she is. “Education is a powerful tool,” she observes. “We need people with a vocation.” For her that is helping young students make the transition from their native tongue to education in English while hanging onto their ethnic culture. “There’s a world of opportunity. I want to help open it up for them.”
With a nudge from her mentor, Doug Evans, Gabi La Roche has found the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha to be the best start for the life she wants, a life that promises to enhance those of many young Waukesha residents as well.
In addition to SWEETT, Mary Edwards, the adult student advisor at UW-Waukesha, notes that there are other programs offering assistance to adults with different interests. She invites those seeking a new start to visit her and begin researching the possibilities. “UW-Waukesha is a resource for the entire community, not just for those who want to attend school here,” she points out. Adults considering a future that includes education are encouraged to contact her as soon as possible to begin their journey to a new life. She is available at (262) 521-5200 or by e-mail at medwards@uwc.edu.
The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, the largest of the 13 freshman-sophomore campuses of the University of Wisconsin System, is located at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha. |
