 |
Marisol Cortez works in Blair H.S. as a custodian. Her job as a custodian is helping her pay her college tuition. After she finishes her day job at Blair, she goes to Montgomery College where she is taking English classes. |
By Tadese Measho
Do you know Marisol Cortez? You might see her
in Montgomery Blair High School cleaning the building during lunch A or lunch
B. But Marisol does not think only about cleaning work. Marisol thinks about
school work, too, because she is a college student at Montgomery College.
Marisol Cortez came to the U.S. almost two years
ago. When she first came to America from El Salvador she didn’t speak
English very well. That was a big problem for her.
Now she is working in Blair cleaning the entire
building the whole day. It is a job that is helping her make her college dream
come true. “I clean the building because I have to get money to pay my
college,” she said.
It was not easy for her to find a good job so
she could get the money to pay to for college. She used to work in another place
for a while but they gave her hours that weren’t good for her. Now she
feels good sometimes about America because she has the best opportunity to get
her education that she wants.
Sometimes there is a lot of work cleaning the
building because Blair is a very big school. But she likes her job because she
has all the benefits like health insurance and sick leave that all the teachers
and other staff get.
She isn’t planning to go back to El Salvador
soon because the country is not in a good position right now. “But one
thing I can do is get an education here and help my country. That is the last
choice I have left,” she said.
She has the same problems that many students who
come from other countries have. She does not have many friends. Another problem
is that her work is far from her school and it takes her a long time to get
to work.
But she tries to have time to do her favorite
thing. She likes to go running every day. Running makes her feel good.
