Texas Border Business
MCALLEN, TEXAS (June 19, 2020) – The path to South Texas College is different for every student, and for some Jaguars the push to enroll is one of the hardest parts.
Perla Sandoval had to take a leap of faith to further her career and life fulfillment. She had worked in the same industry for more than a decade and wanted to advance her prospects. It took a big decision.
“I had been in the legal field for 11 years, and I worked for an attorney, and I was his assistant in court, which meant that we would generally be in court by 8:00, 8:30. So he didn’t want to work with me as far as my class times, so I had to make a choice. It was either going to be school or I was going to continue there. I knew if I continued without a degree, I would have no more advancement.”
Now Perla is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership. She’s learned countless skills to help her take the next step in life.
“I had been in the workforce for 30 years, and I just decided, “Okay, I’m going to take a hickey financially to do this.”
Sandoval pointed toward personal satisfaction as one of the main reasons she decided to return to a classroom for the first time since graduating high school in 1977.
“You have to sometimes realize ‘You know what? You should have self-fulfillment versus the money.”
Since Perla had been away from classrooms for decades, she did have more than just schoolwork to grapple with. STC helped her bridge the technological gap.
“I was very blessed because the people at the library and at the lab were incredible, incredible, incredible. Anytime I had an issue because the technology is so advanced, I always had an assistant. Anytime I didn’t understand, they were willing to help.”
The STC library meant a lot to Perla, some of her fondest memories as a student took place in the resource center.
“I don’t know how I would have managed If it wouldn’t have been for the library, because I did all my work at the library. I can tell you almost everybody’s name at the library, so much so that I wrote the director of the library and several others a thank you card.”
With her degree, she hopes to work for a nonprofit organization to serve a greater good.
“I would like to know that at the end of the day, I made a difference in somebody’s life. That’s what I’ll be looking at, a nonprofit or service organization, because I think that’s very important.”
