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For as long as she can remember, Jazzmin Barita Barita has helped her parents harvest black beans and corn in their native Oaxacan vineyards. But when she was 11, it was a gray morning in the Bakersfield vineyards in November that convinced this curious and sensitive girl that farming was not for her. Ice formed on the vines and seemed to penetrate his bones. She remembered thinking it had never been so cold in Mexico.
“I felt like I couldn’t move, so I lay down on the floor. My dad told me to get up because it would be cold.
“He used to call the pruner by hand his computer.” If you don’t need this kind of computer, go to school. “
Note his wise advice: “Echale! He roughly translated “give it all you’ve got” – Barita graduated in accounting in the spring. And graduated from CSUB in economics minor.
But before her, the Mexican and Valley girl from San Joaquin, who only spoke English at age 13, won the 2021 CSU Advisor Award, the highest honor bestowed on students at California State University. . Receive a prize. Results. Of the 500,000 students enrolled in the country’s largest and most diverse public higher education system, Jazzmin is one of 23 honored students at CSU.
Michael A. And as a Debe Lucki Scholar, Barrita will receive a scholarship of $ 6,000.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,†Barita recalls of her reaction to the news. “It’s so proud of me that everything I’ve done is worth it. I am an immigrant so this is my American dream.
CSUB President Lynette Zelezny praised Barita’s exceptional scholarship and selfless service to others.
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of this honor,” said Dr Zelezny. “I want to congratulate Jazzmin and his parents. As a mother, I know the great joy that my child can experience in revealing his personality with patience and effort. Jazzmin parents are our college and the whole community. Raised a bright and compassionate daughter, a shining light to her. “
Barita’s parents Juan Barita Reyes and Leticia Barita Ramirez said her daughter has always been educated with unconditional support.
“She is where she is, depending on who she is,†her father said in Spanish. “She is the daughter of a farm worker and will be the first college graduate in our family. Apart from who she is and what she has accomplished, she is ours. That’s life and we love it very much. “
Barita is grateful for everything her parents sacrificed to enable her to graduate from CSUB.
“Last summer was the last time I worked on the pitch,†said Barita, who turns 21 in October. “I hope I never have to do this again. It’s a lot of work.
Our “Family” camp
The Baritas made their last move from Mexico to Bakersfield when Jazzmin was thirteen. Her parents had no intention of staying as they navigated the process to become a lawful resident of the country, but were afraid of complications and leaving the United States. During the first months of life in Bakersfield, a family of seven lived in a one-room garage and the children, including Jazzmin, did not go to school. She said it was the lowest point in her life.
“I missed my house, friends, family and even food,†she said. “But I was also afraid to go to school. I didn’t know English at all and felt very helpless.
Eventually, Barita enrolled at East Bakersfield High and was greeted by a support system designed to help immigrant children.
In her fourth year, Barita met Giselle Cornejo, college counselor at East Bakersfield High.
“Students with an immigrant background overcome many obstacles,†said Cornejo, a CSUB graduate who currently works as an advisor at the University’s Academic Resource and Advisory Center.
“Language is a major obstacle. It can be difficult for immigrant families to send their parents to school or attend evening workshops.
Cornejo persuaded Jazmin to apply to several colleges, and the Barrita family placed their hopes in CSUB. As the family lived in east Bakersfield, Cornejo personally drove to CSUB and dropped the required form.
“At that time, I remembered the CAMP program,†Cornejo said.
The college-assisted immigration program, which accepts 75 CSUB students per year, is funded and administered by the US Department of Education to assist farm workers or their children during the first year of the undergraduate program.
CAMP was founded in 2000 at CSUB. Records of the campus program date back to 2010, and between 2019, approximately 700 CSUB students benefited from the advice, guidance, tutoring, and personal encouragement provided by the program.
Barita was one of those students and is currently helping others as CAMP’s academic mentor.
“Thanks to the support that the CAMP program gave me at CSUB. My parents don’t know anything about college or being in college. I cannot ask them for advice. This is why CAMP makes a lot of sense to me. We call it CAMP Familia. “
Just as Jazzmin helps immigrant students find their place in college, she uses her accounting training to file tax returns for low-income families as part of a program coordinated by Khan’s Community Action Partnership. We will help you submit your letter.
“I took my first accounting course in Mexico when I was in grade 7,†she says. “It’s not that easy because I’m not in the first year of college anymore, but I still like it.”
Barita intends to become a Chartered Accountant when she graduates from CSUB and is keen to find employment in the community where she and her family live.
“One of my goals is to help my parents financially. It is impossible to make all their sacrifices, but I hope they will help them someday as they get older. I’m outside. “
But Barita already respects their sacrifices, her mother said, through her accomplishments and the example she set for her siblings.
“She can do everything from fieldwork, to the office, to studies, etc. He’s a very good boy – unaniña muybuena.”
Jennifer Self is the spokesperson for the university.
Daughter of farm workers, CSU Bakersfield student wins first CSU honor | News Link to source Daughter of farm workers, CSU student Bakersfield wins CSU’s first honor | New
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