FIELD Alumni Highlight

This is Saidy Vasquez, one of our Lamont EPIC high school alumni students. She graduated in 2019. She was born in Michoacán Mexico and raised in Colima Mexico and is 36 years old. She came to the US at the age 14 and the first thing she asked was to be enrolled in a high school. Saidy got married at 15 and could not continue with school. She had 5 children and had a very difficult life and became a single parent. Although her struggles began at a very young age and did not have any family support she always dreamed of going to school and getting an education. As the years went by, she decided she would start her journey in learning new skills and search for an opportunity to get an education. Saidy always saw our EPIC flyers everywhere and would see our Outreach team out in the community, but never stopped to see what the EPIC program was about. One day she went to the Lamont resource center to ask about computer classes and as she waited she noticed an EPIC class in session and imagined herself in the classroom. She waited till the class was over to speak to the teacher. “At that moment I knew it was a sign from God that this was where I needed to be. I was convinced that getting a high school diploma from EPIC de Cesar Chávez High School was my opportunity to change my life. I was determined.” Saidy said that her teachers put so much of their time to make sure she understood everything  “the teachers are so flexible with helping students since everyone is at a different level.” She fell behind a few times, but was determined to reach her goal. She had 2 jobs and a lot of obstacles but knew if she gave up things would only get worse. Saidy graduated in 2019 and had the privilege of singing the National Anthem at her graduation. She has pursued a singing career and writes her own music. She has released her first single “Hablando en serio” recently played in some of the local radio stations. She is also attending college and writing a book about her traumatic life experiences. Her goal is to become an Immigration Lawyer and help others seek education opportunities and become successful citizens. “Si Se Puede” #epicdecesarchavezhighschool #epicalumni