CLEVELAND — One nonprofit is giving the under-represented Latin youth an equal opportunity.
Leon Contreras is a Dominican Republic student at Baldwin Wallace University with not one, but three degrees.
“I would like to become a doctor of physical therapy and specialize in rehabilitation,” said Contreras.
School wasn't in his plans when get got here six years ago. He planned to work to make money and fly back home. He says when he arrived in the U.S., he struggled because he did not speak English.
“People were treating me like I was stupid because couldn't read or write in the language, and eventually, my self-esteem was going down,” said Contreras.
It got to the point that all he wanted to do was take a flight back home, but then Esperanza came into the picture.
“We are a 501c3 in Cleveland that works with Cleveland’s Hispanic Latinx community, providing educational services from tutoring [and] academic support to actually helping individuals go to college and find a career path,” said Victor Ruiz, the Executive Director of Esperanza.
Ruiz tells News 5 that the youth in the underrepresented Latin community face a lot of barriers other communities don't, including not speaking the language, not knowing how the academic system works and not knowing what resources are available.
“Some of our services that are really critical is mentoring. We do a lot of mentoring with our students, connect them to adults who can help them,” said Ruiz.
One of those mentors is Germaine Pena, who went through the program. She said there are cultural norms they help the students work through.
“We have to break that mentality down of, if you're struggling in a class, if you struggled throughout a semester, if you struggle within a year, that's okay,” said Germaine Pena, the manager of post-secondary intuitive.
They assist these students not just with schoolwork but with life. They are ensuring students like Contreras have a support system.
“Before Esperanza, I felt like I wasn't being supported. I felt like I was doing everything, but I didn't have anybody to rely on,” Contreras said. “So, the big impact Esperanza had on me was the community aspect. When I got there. Everybody was on the same page. They were in the same boat."
Now with the help of Esperanza, Contreras is following a dream he didn’t even know was possible, while setting an example for his sibling and his community.
“I want to educate the Hispanic culture, to understand that it's okay to learn. It’s okay to be better, it's okay to make people work for you. It's not about only working for the other person, it's about you creating your own generational wealth,” said Contreras.
Also, to all those who doubted and criticized him, he has a message.
“I would say thank you, because whether or not we would like to recognize it, they were a part of my inspiration,” said Contreras.
Esperanza recently received a national honor for its work. The non-profit earned the 2022 "Example of Excelencia" for community-based organizations. “Excelencia in Education" is a national group that supports Latin success in higher education.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
