[music playing]

Mariza Rivas: And I'm a registered nurse at Watsonville Community Hospital. And I've been an [speaking spanish]

I was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, which is the northern part of Mexico. And up to-- let's say-- my eighth birthday, I was a very happy child with both my parents. But we had the misfortune that my parents got divorced.

In my house, my mom used to make the distinction there was no boys or girls. We were all equal. And she taught us all the same. We all cooked. We all washed. We all did everything to help her along.

She's 87 years old, and she's still a very strong woman. And she's still taking care of people. People come to her as a [spanish word] And she still tells them what herbs to get. And because of her love of that kind of medicine, I have that love for the medicine that I went into. And I try to combine both.

Narrator: Then she met Antonio. And her life took the first of many turns.

Mariza Rivas: He was in college when I met him. He was a student at San Diego State University. He encouraged me to go to school. And I married Antonio, came to the United States when I was 19 years old-- not knowing any word of English. And that was very difficult-- coming to a new country with a new culture, new language. It was extremely frightful for me.

One of my instructors in Adult Education was Ann Veronica. And she was a great role model for me.

[the women exchange greetings]

Ann Veronica Coyle: But Mariza seems to have had an extra dose of determination. And she would never, ever give up. She kept trying and trying, and learning and learning and learning very, very quickly.

She had set goals for herself. And it wasn't just a goal. It was goal, upon goal, upon goal, upon goal. And yet there were many, many intermediate goals. And Mariza achieved each goal-- one at a time.

And even after she became a nurse and was practicing, Mariza has continued to set goals for herself. She wants to become certified to teach CPR in Spanish and is taking courses to do that. She wants to improve her skills on the computer. So at Adult School here, she's taking computer classes.

It never stops. It never stopped with Mariza. She continues to set and achieve her goals.

Mariza Rivas: And time management is one of the best skills that you can have as a nurse. So being a mother, being a wife, and being a student taught me those time management skills that are so necessary.

And it was very difficult. There were days when I thought, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it. But then there was a voice behind me and say, you can do it. You can do it because you have made this goal.

And I used to say, Antonio, I'm getting too old for this. And he'll say, Mariza, you're getting old anyway. So why not continue to study?

Keep on going. OK. Don't give up.

[speaking spanish]

Bob Harper: I think Mariza is a wonderful example of what adult education-- I think one of the things that she said that Adult School was a refuge for her from all of the demands of her life. And the truth is that a story like Mariza's is just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of stories that happen every year. All of our students have great successes.

Antonio Rivas: And I think a lot of the Latinas and Latinos can be able to follow her example. That even though you come from a very poor and humble family, you can still do it-- as long as you're willing to do it. And she's a sample of that.

And I love her for that. Because we support each other to help our communities here in Watsonville.

Mariza Rivas: The process of learning is an ongoing thing. And I know that Adult is always open and has the doors open for anybody who wants to learn. And I know-- I'm sure-- that I will come back again. Because that's me. I mean, I don't ever want to stop learning.

[music playing]