Agros Blog

Graduation from university is always an exciting time in anyone’s life. But try to imagine what it must feel like if you were not only the first one to graduate from your family, but also the first from your town? And then imagine that you took all of your classes in a second language, and even began to learn a third language during your years at university. The joy and excitement would be that much more.

This is exactly what happened for four young women and one young man from the Ixil on November 17, 2007. They walked across the stage in their caps and gowns and received their diplomas as professional technicians from the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala. In the audience were members of their families who had left the Ixil in the Guatemalan highlands at 3am that morning to make the trip. These young people had received scholarships from the University and other non-profit organizations to attend four years of schooling-two years to finish their high school degrees and then two more years to receive technical training in their choice of specialty. Three of them chose to focus on agroforestry techniques and the other two focused on tourism. All five plan to return to the Ixil to find jobs, continue studying and serve their communities.

Just months after I began working for Agros in 2003, these five youth won their scholarships and began their studies. They traveled 8 hours away from their families to the University, and to a whole new world. From their small villages to the city of Solola, from their world of speaking Ixil with their families to taking all their classes in Spanish, which is their second language. It was a tough transition. At times they wanted to just leave and return home. They had to have special tutors and take remedial classes when they fell behind in their classes. The first year was the hardest, but they made it. Since then, they’ve served as support to the 17 other youth from the Ixil who have also gotten scholarships in recent years. On November 17th they served as examples that it can be done. And they were so proud.

I had the great honor of attending their graduation ceremony in November. Sitting in the audience, I thought back to that first year when I visited them as they began their studies. I no longer saw the timid young people who were trying to find their place in the world. Now I saw five mature people, proud of their heritage, proud of their new skills, and excited about what life has in store for them. With dreams and hopes, and the tools to achieve them. What a blessing to witness this, and what a blessing they will be to their communities.