You know you’re in college
when you are cramming for a final with your mom or writing an essay with
your husband.
Sound familiar? Many of the students at Palo Alto College have family
members who are enrolled together.
"It's something new," said Sophomore Joshua Cedillo, a Business
major who shares the same English class with his mom. "It's not something
we planned, but I like it."
It is the first and only class Cedillo and his mom, Mary Louise Cedillo,
a sophomore Education major, have together.
Rose Lozano, a Counselor/Associate Professor at Palo Alto College, has worked with students whose families also attend Palo Alto and she said that some request having classes together for travel purposes, childcare situations and to help each other in classes, such as Math.
Maria Martinez, a sophomore Business major, has had several classes with her husband in the past, and they are currently taking two of their three classes together again this semester.
"I think it's helpful to have a class together," said Martinez. "Whatever I don’t understand, he explains it to me. It's like having double teachers."
Although they sometimes study and do papers together, homework is usually done separately.
"He thinks differently than I do," said Martinez. "He does better than me, especially in Math."
Sharing the same class with a family member can also help to save money. Sophomore Veronica Arroyo, a Social Work major, took the same College Algebra class with her sister.
"We shared the book and went half and half on it because it was so expensive," said Arroyo. "We saved money on gas, too, because we took turns giving each other a ride."
Like most of the other families who have classes together, Arroyo found it helpful to study with her sister when she sometimes did not have time to go to the Math Lab.
"Although we studied together, it was fun to see who would make the higher grade."
Students are not the only ones with families at Palo Alto College. Many staff members also work with loved ones.
Delia Muraira, Senior Secretary for Admissions and Records, and her sister, Erlinda Ybarra, who also works at Palo Alto as the Campus Budget Specialist for the President’s Office, admits that they do not see each other throughout the day because Muraira is in the Palomino Center and Ybarra is at the Ozuna Center.
"We only see each other on weekends," she said. "She and my mom both live in Jourdanton, so I see her when I go visit my mom.”
Muraira recently received a pecan pie that her mom sent to Palo Alto with her sister.
"We just met each other in the parking lot, and she passed me the pie through the car window," she said. "I called her later to tell her it was good."
Husband and wife Leandro and Nora Esparza are also part of the faculty and staff at Palo Alto College, and they experience the same situation as Muraira and her sister. As the Coordinator of Recreational Activities and Sports, Leandro Esparza spends most of his time at the Gym. Nora Esparza works as an Education Support Specialist in the Counseling and Support Services Center.
"We have different schedules," said Leandro Esparza. "Sometimes it's hard to see each other."
"We live close," said Nora Esparza. "So sometimes we go home and eat lunch together. The majority of the time we do our own things."
Both say that they see each other less now that they work together than when they used to work at separate locations.
"You would think that since we work together, we would see each other more,” said Leandro Esparza. “But we don't."
Another faculty and staff member who has family working at Palo Alto College is Emma Ramos, who works on budgets and reports for the Continuing Education Department. Her brother, Luis Mercado, works as an Outreach Services Specialist for the Ozuna and for the Office of Public Affairs.
“I called him to take me to lunch on my birthday,” said Ramos. “Other than that, we really don’t see each other.”
Ramos, who is semi-retired, helped get her brother the interview that eventually led to his employment at Palo Alto.
“Family is very important,” said Lozano. “It is a reflection of who we are.”