Oral History Program Zarela Castro Interviewed by Chelsee Boehm 9 May 2018 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Zarela Castro Interviewed by Chelsee Boehm 9 May 2018 Copyright © 2024 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The First-Generation Oral History Project began in 2018 in collaboration with Weber State’s FirstGeneration Club. The commonly accepted definition of a first-generation student is one whose parents/guardians did not earn a Bachelor’s degree. This project was created to capture the experiences of active first-generation students and alumni in an attempt to better understand the challenges that firstgen students face. These interviews explore the difficulties of navigating college, including scholastic and financial hurdles, as well as highlighting current students’ future goals and alumni successes. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Castro, Zarela, an oral history by Chelsee Boehm, 9 May 2018, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Zarela Castro Circa 2010 Zarela Castro 9 May 2018 Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Zarela Castro, conducted on May 9, 2018, in the Stewart Library’s Archives Conference Room, by Chelsee Boehm. Zarela discusses her life and her experiences as a first-generation college student at Weber State University. Also present is Alexis Stokes, the video technician. CB: Alright, my name is Chelsee Boehm. Today is May 9, 2018, and we are here with Zarela Castro at the Stewart Library. We are going to talk to Zarela about her experiences as a first-generation student. Just to clarify, a first-generation student is one whose parents’ have not earned a four-year degree. Alexis Stokes is operating the camera. So to begin, can you tell me where you were born? ZC: Sure. I was born in Arequipa. That is in the south of Peru. I was born in 1982. CB: So how did you end up in Utah? ZC: Well, I won the lottery visa, and they gave me permanent residence, and I just came to the US in 2007. CB: Did you come straight to Utah, or were you somewhere else first and then you came to Utah? ZC: No. I remember I had a friend at the time. I just asked her, “Can I come here to Utah?” She said, “Sure,” so I came here. She was living in Farmington. She was the only person that I knew here at that time. CB: Can you tell me a little bit about what your life was like growing up? What did you like to do when you were little? 1 ZC: Sure. Well, when I was a child—I would like to tell you just a little bit about my mom and dad. CB: Yeah, please do. ZC: My dad, he was in the Air Force, so he was traveling most of the time around Peru. I was with my mom. I remember I used to play a lot with my cousins. My sister, she is five years older than me. My Grandma and my sister always took care of me while my mom was working. I remember I loved to play with a lot of different things. I played with little cars with my cousins. My sister loved to play with dolls while I was playing with cars. I enjoyed soccer, basketball, and I loved to dance. CB: So, your older sister, is that the only sibling that you have? ZC: Yes, that’s my only sibling. CB: And does she still live in Peru? ZC: Yes, she’s living in Peru. I would like to share the tale of how I got the green card. I remember I was going to the law school in Peru in 2007, and that was the year I received my degree in the law school. My mom said, “Apply, because they are giving a lottery visa in South America.” In the beginning, I said, “Mom, do you think that this is real? I don’t think so.” My mom said, “Yes, just do it. Let’s go!” I did it. I remember I received mail at my door and they said, “Zarela Castro.” 2 “Yeah, it’s me.” In Peru, it’s kind of weird to receive mail because usually young people live with their parents until 27, 28 years old. I was like, “Yeah, it’s me.” I received the letter and they said, “You won a green card,” so I came here. I remember I was kind of afraid because I didn’t know a lot of people here. I remember at that time, English was a really hard language for me. So I tried to find out where they teach English, and I came here to Weber State. I remember I started to take the ESL classes. I went to ask for information. I was kind of nervous speaking half English, half Spanish. I asked about the ESL classes; they were really, really nice. They helped me a lot, and they gave me a lot of options. I decided to take the ESL courses. I said, “Well, I’m going to take the ESL classes,” and I did. I remember it was an amazing experience there in the ESL classes. All the professors were really nice. They really cared that you really need to learn English, not because you need to pass a class, it's because you need to learn to speak. If you want to live here in the US, you have to learn. You have to do your best. So I remember I got my certificate in ESL and my question was, “Well, now what am I going to do?” I tried to find out what careers Weber State had, and I found that they offer amazing careers. I decided to take HR—Human Resources Management. Well, right now I have a double major, but at the time, it 3 was just HR. I started to take my general classes and I got my degree in my general classes in 2015. I later met a good friend and she told me, “Let’s go to join the group [TRIO].” I said, “Okay, let’s go.” So I went there, and all the people that worked there are amazing. They always offer you a lot of information. In the FirstGeneration club, they have a lot of activities and community services. I really loved this club. CB: That’s awesome. Are you in any other clubs on campus? Do you do any other extra-curricular stuff like that? ZC: Well, right now, no, just the First-Generation student club. But I am a full-time student and a full-time mom. Right now I’m not working because I’m taking care of my son. My mom is helping; she sent me some money from Peru. I think the best way to say thank you to my mom is to try and contribute and study very hard. I am just doing my best. My son and mom are my strength and I love them so much. CB: That’s wonderful. So you said your dad was in the Air Force and your mom worked sometimes. What kind of work did your mom do when she was working? ZC: My mom has worked almost 30 years for a hospital—the name is EsSalud—in Arequipa. CB: When did you decide that you wanted to go to college? ZC: That was when I was 12 years old. CB: Was there something that happened that kind of inspired you? 4 ZC: Yes, a friend of my family at that time was a lawyer. When I heard that person talking about court, I said, “Wow, this sounds amazing.” I saw a lot of movies about lawyers and cases, and I said, “I love it. I want to be a lawyer.” So when I was 12 years old, I decided to go to law school. I went to law school in Peru—it took me six years. CB: You went for six years? ZC: Yes, I did. I completed law school and received my license to practice as a lawyer in 2007. CB: So did you ever get to practice before you came? ZC: Yes, I had completed two simple administrative cases prior to receiving my visa. Before being licensed, I worked with a judge in Peru. I worked with him for close [to] two years. I worked with a prosecutor before that; that was really an amazing experience. I learned a lot about law. I remember those years, just being in law school and being part of that. I didn’t work for the court, but I worked with the judge, similar to an internship. It was a really amazing experience. CB: Definitely. So does the degree or the certificate that you earned there translate over in the US to anything? ZC: Yeah, I remember I went to find out what I can do here in Utah, and they said, “Yes, you can take a Utah Bar test.” It’s just a test I can take, and they can get me a permit here in Utah. I remember when I went to find out all the information about Utah Law or what can I do to be a lawyer here in the US, I remember they said, “Prepare for the test”. 5 I decided to learn everything about America first. I said, “I want to be a part of America.” Right now, I’m a citizen, but at the time, I was only a permanent resident. I knew I wanted to study, so I decided to take my generals, because I wanted to learn English better and I wanted to practice speaking and developing writing skills. I wanted to learn about geography. I wanted to learn about the many places in America. I want to be able to answer when someone asks me something about America. In the future, maybe, I will like to be a lawyer and go to law school here, too. I would like to do that. Another option that I’m planning is to be part of [the] US Air Force as a civilian. CB: Very cool. ZC: Yeah, we’ll see. CB: That’s awesome. So not only are you doing school full-time, but you also take care of your son. How old is your son? ZC: When I was going to school in 2010-2011, I was working full-time, 40 hours a week, and I was taking full-time school. I remember it was a really hard time, but I said, “I have to do this now because if I say, ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow,’ it will never happen. Just get my degree.” I said, “No, I need to do this.” I remember it was like that until I got married in 2012. I had my son in 2013 and it was the most amazing experience of my life, being a mom. After I had my son, I remember I decided to take one or two classes while being a mom, but at the time, I didn’t work. I just took two or three classes and I was just a full-time mom. Later, I decided to start working again. I 6 started to work and go to school. Then I was working full-time, but later I decided to take full-time classes and [be] a mom full-time. So I decided to find another part-time job and be a full-time student. In 2016, my relationship was done with the father of my son. But I think, for me, it was not a bad experience. I think you learn from everything. You need to learn from every single experience in your life. So that helped me to be stronger, and I decided to not quit school. Just keep going. I said, “Well, now it’s only my son and I.” The father of my son and I have a good relationship, so I am just taking full-time classes and taking care of my son right now. We are doing this. I just have three more semesters and I will be graduated. CB: That’s awesome. So you said you are doing a double major? ZC: Yes, I’m doing a double major in finance and human resources management. I have a minor in psychology, and I got my associate’s in 2015. CB: You’re doing so good. You’re amazing; that’s so cool. ZC: Thank you. CB: Can you tell me about some of the things that have been most difficult being a first-generation student? Like learning how to navigate tuition and registration. Was that complicated? ZC: I will be honest, when you start school, you are afraid of everything: especially if you don’t know the language very well, and you don’t understand it’s a process of what you need to do. But one thing that I love about Weber State is you find amazing people that are always willing to help you and give you a lot of information. I remember when I went to financial aid, they just talk me through 7 the process. Sometimes you don’t know where to go, and they help you know where to go and what to do. I remember the first time, I didn’t know how to register, because for me, everything was difficult. I said, “Wow, what can I do now?” They said, “Don’t worry, I will help you and I will teach you to do it.” They have a lot of patience, and they showed me how to go to the website, what I needed to do, the steps that I needed to follow, and everything was good. CB: What would you say to a prospective first-generation student who’s interested in going to college? What advice would you give them? ZC: My advice is just, don’t be afraid. Sometimes we are afraid to ask for help; sometimes we don’t know what to do, but my advice is: don’t be afraid. If you find on the website something like First-Generation Club or another club that you are interested in going to, just go. Please, ask them anything. They can give you more information about it. They really are amazing people. They will give you all the information that you need; they’ll help you. That is my advice. CB: You already touched on this, but what are your goals for after you graduate? ZC: One of my goals is to provide for my family, provide for the future of my son. I think that is the most important goal. Another goal is to be successful. I will be honest, something that I learned at Weber State is that the professors teach you, not because you need to pass the class, but because you need to learn the applications in your own life to be successful. They don’t say, “Oh, you know what, this is easy, just study this.” No. They want you to learn and they want you to succeed. They want you to be able to resolve problems and be competitive in 8 the market. Another one of my future goals is I would like to do some projects to help kids or help older people. CB: Wonderful. What are you most proud of, being a first-generation student or just in general: what are you most proud of? ZC: Okay, I feel proud because I feel like part of the club. They are a wonderful group who are always there to help you and give you the best advice. Something that I didn’t know is when you have a really hard situation–like, I don’t know, for books or something—they give you a lot of alternatives; they help you a lot. They are never like, “Oh, no.” You can talk to an advisor and explain. For example, some personal experience that I have is I remember my accounting classes. I went to talk with an advisor there and he was amazing. He worked with me on my schedule. There are people who are available to help you with tutoring. They will help you with grammar, they will help you with writing. I feel so happy and I feel so proud and I would like to invite people to this club. CB: Good. Is there anything that you want to add or anything that you feel like we’ve missed? ZC: Well, I don’t know. If you want to go to belong to the First-Generation Club, just go ask. If you need to go and get more information, just go there, and I know they will give you the best response and they will give you the best advice. CB: Okay. Thank you so much. ZC: You’re welcome. 9