Maria Cubias, a criminal justice student, was selected among 20 students nationwide to attend a summer program in the Netherlands, and The NECC Fund granted the costs of the program.
Mostly known as “Ampa” short name for Amparo, her middle name, she is a hardworking and committed student. Her full time rotative and demanding job as case manager in a homeless rehabilitation center does not put her behind in her grades, she is a 4.00 GPA student. She has received recognitions by PACE program as she is a first generation student.
This reporter remembers Ampa and I got together to study statistics and take a test. Those kinds that you can retake twice. After hours of studying, calculators and sheets with math scribbles around the table, they kicked us out of the library.
I thought we would say goodbye as we got around 90. However, when the security officer told us the Student Center was open, Ampa dragged me there to continue, saying “it’s not over yet, we should take it again.” I was content with the high grade achieved. I was tired and cold, but she encouraged me to review the mistakes, take notes and retake the test until reaching the three digits grade. So, we did. On that foggy dark midnight, we left campus, her face illuminated the empty parking lot with full satisfaction of the work well done. Ampa is a natural coach and her willingness to achieve excellence is infectious.
Ampa will travel in June to the Netherlands, for a three-week intensive program to study thanks to COE and NECC. The Council of Education COE offers every year the “Keith Sherin Global Leaders: Study Abroad Program” which includes one immersive week of study with ECHO Center of Diversity Policy and two weeks of an elective and a general course based on the 17 goals of the United Nations, at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, in The Hague, 45 minutes south of Amsterdam.
This KSGL Study Abroad Program is focused on first-generation students from community colleges or state universities across the nation. Not only they are given the opportunity to study abroad, which for most students will be the first time traveling away from their hometown, but the big takeaway (for me as I did go last year,) is the opportunity to amplify our vision to the world and study and learn from peers from all around the world. Last year, for instance, the United States cohort mingled with students from England, France, Germany, Poland, Nigeria, Kenya, Spain and South Korea. Classes are intensive from 9 a.m. to late afternoon but well balanced with group work and with activities to discover the Dutch culture.
Last semester, Ampa won a scholarship from the Massachusetts Educational Opportunity Association (MEOA). This award was granted to only six students in the state.
Ampa was born in El Salvador, she came to the U.S. when she was 12 years old, escaping from gang violence after her brother was killed by one of those groups. Years later, when living with relatives in New Jersey, she was a good student in high school and an outstanding soccer player. She was studying and working two shifts at the same time. In 2014, the coach encouraged her to apply for a scholarship to study at Rutgers University, and she won a full four-year scholarship. However, her mom fell sick and she left everything behind to travel to her hometown in El Salvador to assist her mom to recover. Despite all her efforts, her mom passed away months later.
Ampa treasures sweet memories of the last days by her mom’s side, including the gold advice “hija (daughter), you have to study, look for yourself to be someone in life.” Ampa follows naturally her mom’s words.
In 2017, Ampa was residing in Massachusetts, and she started to study ESL English as a Second Language at NECC. Unfortunately, she had to drop all courses due to a major accident. She was unable to move, transitioning from bed rest to crutches, then to wheelchair. Finally, she could walk again after surgeries and five years of physical therapy.
Nevertheless, resilience and determination seem to be in Ampa’s DNA. As soon as she could recover, she worked as a security guard in the shelter where she currently works as rehousing case manager. After taking social worker courses, she assists individuals who are free from incarceration. She loves her job. “Each Monday, I have three or four people waiting for me…I tell them that it is their decision to be clean. I encourage them to try and do their best…I feel I am not a social worker, I am a resource that they can see themselves. When I had the accident, I was struggling badly, I was broken, I was eating expired frozen food, I was close to being homeless. So, I understand what they are going through. I teach them how to save dollar by dollar, I encourage them to work and make up their life,” said Ampa.
Along with her work, she decided it was time to go back to study. She chose criminal justice, and she hopes to transfer to a four-year college to get a bachelor’s degree in investigative criminology.
The NECC Fund, recognizing Ampa’s efforts and achievements, funded the costs of the program. However, as she supports herself, she will not work during those three weeks of her studies in the Netherlands, leaving her tight on her income to cover her bills as the rent or food.
For this reason, her friend Rosa Garza, NECC business student and owner of Rosita’s Cocina organized a pop-up sell/fundraising on Saturday March 23 at Kitchen Local, 14 Cedar St, Amesbury. Garza cooked and soldl her traditional Mexican goodies, and all proceeds will be donated to Ampa. If you cannot attend, you are more than welcome to donate to GoFundMe, by visiting this link: gofund.me/8fe3685d or scan the QR Code.
Ampa and all the ones who have been touched by her story and her tireless resilience will be very thankful.
