| When Pereyra told her family she wanted
to attend college, they discouraged her because they didn’t feel
college was a necessity for females. Despite their objections, Pereyra
set out to pay for her own education.
She worked during the summer and saved her money so she could enroll
at MHCC, and has continued to work even while a full-time student.
“My friends were coming here, and it was more affordable,”
Pereyra said. “However, now that I’ve graduated from MHCC
and transferred to Portland State University, I see MHCC was also a
great place to begin. The classes are smaller, and the teachers are
more accessible.”
Pereyra spent her first year at MHCC by taking general studies classes
and then went to see an adviser to help her decide a major.
“I thought I might want to study architecture at PSU, but there
were few math classes required for the degree, and I love math and physics.
My adviser suggested an engineering transfer track.”
Students in the Engineering Transfer program take exploratory classes
in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering to help them decide
on an area of focus.
“Once I got into the electrical engineering class and studied
circuitry and robotics, I knew it was the route I wanted to go.”
Pereyra said.
Pereyra doesn’t mind holding down a job, carrying a full load
of classes and being one of only a few women in her electrical engineering
classes—not if it means her younger sisters will learn that barriers
can be broken and their dreams can be achieved.
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