NW Valley Times

Eyleen Ochoa traveled far to be a bilingual aide in this Northside Elementary class in Cleveland, Texas. Before fleeing Cuba, before her journey across eight countries to the U.S.-Mexico border, before her second life as a classroom aide in Texas and before her online courses at Grand Canyon University launched on May 23, Eyleen Ochoa was just a girl who wanted to write.

On the first day of second grade, she was issued a single gray notebook made of recycled newspaper with no lines and had to squeeze words between math problems and erase mistakes with a wet finger. At night, she cut words out of newspapers at home and used her mother’s homemade baking soda glue to paste them together and make sentences.

That wasn’t the only challenge. Ochoa couldn’t write what she wanted.

“What are you going to write? Whatever you feel, whatever you are thinking at the moment, whatever makes you sad, whatever makes you angry, whatever makes you have hope?” Ochoa asked.

In communist Cuba, she wasn’t free to write, fearing she would mysteriously disappear. What she was left with was a gray notebook and textbooks filled with government propaganda. “They cut your wings. You are a child.”

Years later, Ochoa would write this for a college teacher in Texas in her essay “Freedom to Write:” “Freedom was only in your imagination or written in the darkest nights in your room but only meant to be ripped up the next day and never talked about. To keep a diary would have been a matter of life or death.”

By age 12 she sat her father down to tell him this: “You know I will never give the blessing of having your grandchildren in this country. I will have my babies and do my life outside this country. You have to be prepared for that."

“I was preparing myself for my dream, and my dream was not there.”

Her dream of freedom took another decade. Soon after she finished a bachelor’s degree in Havana at the University of Physical Culture and Sports Sciences to become a physical culture teacher in 2010, she met a tourist couple from Ecuador. She told them of the scarcity of food when one plate of rice and a fried egg was the only meal, how she washed her teeth with salt and collected rainwater to wash clothes. As a new teacher, she made $5 a month while new shoes cost $10.

They offered to pay her way to Ecuador for a visit despite many travel restrictions still being in place then by buying her roundtrip tickets. Her parents knew that she would never get on the return flight.

Ochoa said she became a refugee in Ecuador but within two months found work at hardware stores before teaching swimming lessons. She met Guzman Ochoa, pastor of small ministry doing mission work there; they soon married and had their child Christopher.

Her husband traveled back and forth between countries but they dreamed of being united in America which required returning back home trying again from scratch accordingly upon reaching Mexico's borders near Brownsville Texas where policy allowed migrants fleeing via land sea without visas stay legally—rescinded two years later (2017).

So with Christopher then five years old carrying backpacks each stuffed full $3k savings set out traversing eight nations ultimately arriving August 2015 knocking doors showing Cuban passports knowing “wet foot dry foot” policy permitted asylum entry USA without visa rescinded later two years subsequently reunited husband wept believing never see again reassuringly stating faith worst staying behind fighting dreams determined every step taken guided belief freedom achieved finally realizing settling Cleveland Texas eventually working paraprofessional bilingual aide Northside Elementary School connecting students dysfunctional homes needing love protection excitement goals comforting hugs needed teaching respect regardless differences backgrounds exemplifying resilience pursuit dreams against adversity appreciation opportunities provided embracing freedoms previously denied

Eyleen remembers 1991 photograph marking chaotic downturn country's situation aspiring become classroom teacher struggled proving educational credentials meeting GCU university development counselor Erica Dudek facilitating National Center Teacher Preparation Initial Licensure Scholarship financial assistance pursuing master elementary education transcript evaluations overcoming credential acceptance issues typically faced graduates communist regimes resulting emotional revelation qualifying graduate studies initiating applications prospective teaching positions forthcoming academic year reflecting immigrant experiences emphasizing perseverance determination achieving aspirations advocating importance seizing opportunities afforded American freedoms previously unattainable encouraging others fight tirelessly realizing potential highlighting transformative power education enabling advocacy expression faith underscoring profound gratitude newfound liberties empowering sharing inspiring future generations

Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]

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