Note from BW of Brazil: I have to admit, I was quite surprised to see this story and for several reasons. First, because it is such a rarity. I’ve seen stories of kids encouraging their parents to go back and get their high school diplomas or college degrees after they put their education on hold to help their children get ahead. I’ve seen stories of one parent and and child going to high school or college together and graduating together, but I’ve never seen a story of mother, father and daughter attending college at the same time! Not saying it’s never happened, just saying I’VE never seen it. The second thing I have to admit is that, at first, just reading the headline and seeing the photo, I thought this could be an American family, because many black oriented Brazilian websites often post stories about black people in the United States, Europe or Africa. And third, as I’ve noted over the years, a common thing you see among black Brazilians is that, once a man or woman ascends in the life, they usually choose a white partner. To see a family consisting of a black man, black wife and black daughter ALL attending college at the same time is a story I most definitely get joy in sharing with you.
Father, mother and daughter together realize the dream of going to college
Courtesy of RPA
Example of overcoming in the family!
Família que estuda unida, permanece unida (The family that studies together, stays together). This is the life motto of the Prates family. On February 18, Reginara, Luis Carlos and daughter Victorya began together to fulfill the dream of higher education.
The three chose courses in the area of health at FADERGS (Faculdade de Desenvolvimento do Rio Grande do Sul) in Porto Alegre, and said that mutual support was decisive when it came to resuming their studies. The family’s greatest advocate has always been the mother, Reginara. At the age of 54, she had already abandoned her dreams to concentrate on her daughter.
Beside her, her husband Luis Carlos, 57, was also settled in retirement when he decided to exchange his rest for the classes of the Exame Nacional para Certificação de Competências de Jovens e Adultos (National Exam for Certification of Competences of Young and Adults) (Encceja). All to encourage his daughter Victorya, 22, the youngest of three siblings, to continue her studies.
“I had stopped school and he decided to take Encceja with me to encourage me,” explains Victorya. But the encouragement did not stop there. Then came Enem, who father and daughter also did together. Luis Carlos took a liking to studies and decided that he would also attend college. “Everything was born of the initiative to help Victorya. Gradually, we have strengthened ourselves and now we go together to the university,” says Luis Carlos, who is going to take physical therapy.
The daughter chose nursing. And the wife, psychology. The three will attend classes at FADERGS on Avenida João Pessoa “With them going with me to college, the most difficult thing is going to be missing class,” laughs Victorya.
A life of overcoming
She had dreamed of being a psychologist since she was little, but she never thought it was possible. “When I was young I thought I would never pass the vestibular (entrance exam). I didn’t know what it was like, but I always put it in my head that I would never pass,” she says.
She currently works as a real estate broker, but this was never the profession that brought her real fulfillment. Now “it’s being a dream,” as she herself defines it, and she points out: “I’ll be able to work until I’m old. When you get older, you become more experienced.”
Source: Razões para Acreditar
Beautiful! These are the stories we need our community to see!