Translated by Julian Nihill
When a woman becomes pregnant before the age of 20, her life’s journey becomes as difficult as walking up a sand dune with a 20-pound backpack. It is not that it’s impossible to climb that mountain of sand, but it becomes a challenge; with each stride you sink, and can’t measure how far you have advanced or how close you are to the goal. Lizbeth Ávila has managed to climb that mountain of shifting sand and has sought a firmer path, through education.
Currently, she is a proud mother of two teenage children and together with her husband, she has managed to form a united family with quality of life. Now 30, she is planning to graduate soon with a Business Administration degree from Colorado Mountain College, and to work her way up the ladder. Today, she works at the Aspen Institute, a well-known nonprofit organization.
Ávila came to the Roaring Fork Valley when she was 5 years old. At 11, she met the man who is now her husband through Aspen Sante Fé Ballet Folklórico. They started dating when she was 14, and at 16, her first child was born. A second, a daughter, was born two years later, and now they are a family of four. They both come from Mexican families, when they arrived in the U.S. they knew neither English nor the harsh reality of getting a job in order to pay the rent and bills.
Ávila’s life as a young mother was much the same as that of many Latina women in the Valley who work jobs cleaning houses, waitressing or doing whatever work they can find, earning very little and never enough. What made her change course was the realization that it was necessary to study and to acquire theoretical knowledge in addition to her practical knowledge.
In 2017, she decided to obtain a formal education, to gain the credentials necessary to compete for a better-paid salary. While she studied education, she got a job as an assistant teacher and later as a shadow teacher serving special education children at Crystal River Elementary School.
It was here that she realized the importance of observation, assimilating the techniques and knowledge of experienced teachers, and applying these to her children. Working in a school allowed her to be near her children and gave her the tools to better organize her home, to establish schedules and limits on her children so that, as parents, they could find the time to develop and grow.
Ávila performed various administrative and accounting tasks at work, but these tasks were not reflected in her pay. Now she intends to learn more accounting and administrative theory because a diploma will reinforce her experience and will legitimize her within the market.
Some two years ago, she spotted an announcement for an open position at the Aspen Institute. She applied, and weeks later she was hired. In her first meeting, she was surprised to see that the majority there were women who expressed themselves directly and acted decisively. “It was like an explosion,” she said, “I had never been exposed to an executive environment like that of the Institute. My jobs involved service to children, to the teachers and to my employers.”
The Institute has opened her eyes to the business environment, politics and the executive world, to the importance of being well prepared, and of taking advantage of the knowledge that higher education provides. “To hold an important position at an international level, you must have these skills,” she added.
Observing how her colleagues at the Institute work, what has most struck her is how they analyze issues and communicate the resolution with clarity. “This reflects their high level of preparation,” Ávila said, “and it is why I will continue preparing and studying.”
Since Avila’s children were born, she and her husband have worked tirelessly and supported each other. Now her two children go to school and also participate in the same folkloric dance group where she and her husband met.
“Don’t waste time,” Ávila advised, “even if you don’t know which way to go, you should study. You will be surprised at the variety of programs the community college offers.” As she walked to her office amidst the trunks of bald aspen trees, she said with conviction, “to climb the mountains of life, you have to have inner strength and humility to observe and learn from others.”
Comments are closed.