Odette Figueruelo-Arias

I was born in Habana, Cuba in 1971.  At the age of nine I became a Spanish citizen through my father’s citizenship and moved to Madrid, Spain.  In Spain I had the opportunity to meet the rest of my father’s family.  They are from Asturias in the northern part of Spain.  It was in Spain where an interest in Literature emerged.  In 1986, my family and I moved to Tampa, Florida.  We have family here as well.  The first months in Tampa were very difficult for me.  I went through a process of adaptation to a new language, a new culture and a new family that I had only known through letters and pictures.  I was placed in the 10^th grade at Leto High School.  The first year was extremely difficult as I was trying to learn the language while trying to process the information given to me by my teachers.  I was determined to accomplish my goal of learning the language and graduating from High School.  Fortunately, I had great support from my family and some teachers that impacted my life. I learned how to ignore those around me that were not positive and discouraged me to continue in my journey.

After graduating from Leto High School, I moved on my own.  I had to work full time in order to support myself and I was going to school full time.  It was extremely difficult to do both; therefore, I discontinued my studies in order to work full time. Fortunately my first year in college I met the man that would be my future husband.  On February 1995, I married Abel Arias.  He encouraged me to go back to school and follow the dreams I had since I was a child and those that I had created through my experiences.

In August 1995, I started college again. As I was going to Hillsborough Community College I was also working at Crestwood Elementary as a full time Bilingual Assistant.  I had the opportunity to help children that were enduring the process of assimilation as I did years before.  Working among wonderful teachers and having my mother as an example, an interest in teaching was born in me.  In December 1997, I earned an Associates of Arts degree from Hillsborough Community College.  In August 1998, I was awarded with the Latino Scholarship.  I was sponsored by Pan American University Women.  During the fall of 1999, I graduated with a double major from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelors of Arts in Spanish Literature.  While I was working towards my degree, I became a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and the International Foreign Language Honor Society (Phi Sigma Iota).  When I received the Latino scholarship it really changed my life. The scholarship enabled me to go to school full time without having the pressure of working full time as I had done before.  As I was finishing my studies I decided that I was going to pursue a Masters Degree in Spanish Literature.  My first semester in graduate school I discovered that I was expecting my first child.  Although this was not part of my academic plans, the news made us very happy.  The fall semester of the year 2000 and the spring semester of 2001, I did not attend USF due to the birth of my child.  Marcos Alan Arias was born on December 15, 2000.  Although I had to postpone my career goals, the time spent at home with Marcos has been a wonderful experience. 

In the spring of 2001 I applied for a teacher’s assistantship at USF to aid in my tuition and obtaining the teaching experience as well.  In August 2001, I resumed my studies.  During the fall semester, I taught Spanish I.  During the spring semester 2002, I taught Spanish II. The summer of 2002 I completed the Master’s degree in Spanish Literature.  It was very difficult to be a mother at the same time that I was a graduate student, also I was teaching part time.  I was determined to graduate and to be the best mother my son.  I had to organize my self very well, to be able to have time to do it all.  I created a system to be able to have a balance between school and my duties as a mother and wife.  I was very persistent and followed the system without any deviation. 

Consistency, persistence, organization, such skills helped me achieve my goals.  I managed to graduate with a 4.0 grade point average.  In August 2002 I started working full time as a Spanish teacher at Jefferson High School.  Now not only I have the opportunity to do something I love, to teach but I also talk to my students about the importance of an education.  I appreciated the Latino scholarship I obtained.  I am very grateful to Pan American University Women for giving me the opportunity that placed me in the path for success. Since I understand how an assistance of such magnitude can help a student, I became a member of PAUW (Pan American University Women) in order to give my support to new students in the future. 

Among my academic future goals is the one to obtain a Doctoral degree to become a college professor.  Through my college years I have met great people that encouraged and helped me reach my goals.  I am very thankful to my family for the support they have given me.  I am also very thankful for those people that were responsible for the scholarship I received. 

As a professional in today’s society I can tell the high school students how extremely important it is to get a college education. Obtaining a college degree will be one of the most important achievements in any body’s life.  No matter how difficult the journey might become, or how many obstacles could be found in the way, with persistence and consistency the goal of graduating from college will be achieved. 

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