Sometimes a path is straight and narrow; other times it can be winding, making the journey longer but allowing us to see sites and have experiences we would otherwise have missed. Such was the path for Brownsville resident Marvelia Saldana.
Being a military wife meant “bouncing around from one state to another,” according to Saldana. With four small children, she didn’t have the time — or, likely, the energy — to attend school and pursue her own career goals.
Neither of her parents graduated from high school. Her dad, who grew up in Mexico, always encouraged his children to continue their education through and beyond high school. Saldana described her mom, born and raised in the United States, as far more traditional, finding her daughter’s role as a mother one that completely superseded her desire to earn a college degree.
While supporting her husband’s military service and raising their children, Saldana’s desire to be a first-generation college student never waned. When her husband’s military service ended, they settled in Brownsville.
Saldana’s children are now adults. Now it was her turn to respond to the yearnings of her heart. Although she and her husband are raising their granddaughter, whose mother passed away in 2017, she knew she could dedicate herself to earning a degree.
Saldana knew she wanted to study something in the medical field, so she enrolled in a Valley technical school to become a medical coding specialist. After completing the program, however, potential employers repeatedly told her she needed more work experience … but she could work as a receptionist for $7 an hour. Saldana knew she had taken the wrong path.
“While debating what I wanted to study, I came across an article about a clinical laboratory and it intrigued me,” Saldana said. She discovered that Texas Southmost College offered a two-year program. “I reached out to Dr. (Consuelo) Villalon (Medical Laboratory Technology Program director). She was very helpful and I liked the fact that she would answer all of my questions.”
Saldana applied to the program and gained acceptance. During orientation, Stephanie Florez, a case manager and career counselor at Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, gave a presentation about this nonprofit organization which aids unemployed and underemployed residents of the Rio Grande Valley in pursuing high-skill, high-demand, higher-paying careers. For more than 25 years, VIDA has provided financial assistance — as well as individual and group counseling and service opportunities — to students in an effort to help them complete a certificate or degree, get hired, and advance in their careers and in their lives.
“Thanks to VIDA, I’ve been able to afford school,” Saldana said. “Without their help, I wouldn’t have been able to attend school. They have helped me with tuition and books. I’m thankful that I have Stephanie’s support. I enjoy that we have group counseling sessions. I hadn’t been in school for the longest time, but they help me deal with stress and especially with my time management.”
Saldana will graduate this month with an Associate of Applied Science and will then take the American Society of Clinical Pathologists exam; a passing score makes her a certified medical laboratory technician. MLTs, a field the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates will see an 11 percent increase through 2028, maintain and calibrate equipment in medical-facility laboratories and collect blood, tissue, urine and other samples from patients to help physicians diagnose illnesses and diseases.
VIDA has helped Saldana navigate the path that has led to her long-anticipated college graduation. Saldana knows her destination is near.
“I want to be in a field that the work I do helps others,” she said. “My wish is that I get a good-paying job — a stable job — one where I can work for many years, until it’s time for me to retire.”