By Ashley Neal/reporter

Don’t let obstacles get in the way of  dreams, speakers told NW students Sept. 27.

Mayra Fuentes, Lourdes Ramboa, Ramiro Sosa and Misty Renteria, four Hispanic employees at TCC, talked about Spanish culture and the importance of education as part of a Hispanic Heritage Month lecture.

“I wanted to apply for college but was told I wasn’t good enough for college and to look elsewhere,” Fuentes said. “That is a problem.”

She decided to go regardless, and a scholarship was her key. She went on to graduate from Dallas Baptist University with her master’s and is now working on her doctorate.

She shared a PowerPoint and talked about how she is currently researching Latinos in higher education. She hopes to see more Latinos graduate from college.

Fuentes discussed the struggles she had when she moved from Mexico to the U.S. and how the language barrier made it harder to make friends and caused her school hours to be longer.

Ramboa left Panama because her country was led by a dictator and fled to southern California at 15 years old. Her parents’ degrees couldn’t be used in the U.S., so they were broke and didn’t have much money for college.

“There is plenty of money available, and you shouldn’t let that be the reason you stop going back to school,” Ramboa said.

Ramboa received scholarships that basically paid for her first year of college.

Sosa told students to follow their dreams and not let obstacles stop them.

“With every obstacle, there’s an opportunity,” Sosa said. “Don’t be satisfied where you are because dreams are always changing.”

NW student Jason Tran said he was inspired by Sosa’s words.

“I loved it. I learned a lot,” Tran said. “I was taking notes on how to achieve my higher education.”