Mom and daughter graduate together into a new awareness

EL PASO – Ambar Calvillo told her mother over dinner she was madly in love with another woman. Although Irma Calvillo was shocked, she accepted her daughter to the fullest and then had to suffer through strong criticism from her family for that acceptance. “Nobody is going to tell me how to raise them,” she said. Irma, 46, majoring in human resources and Ambar, 22, majoring in public relations will graduate together with BA degrees in May from the University of Texas at El Paso. “College has given me that confidence I never had, and I think I have become more humble and open to this generation now than before” said Irma.

New graduates face the tough reality of today’s job market

EL PASO — Crystal Ortiz walked tall into a new life after she was handed a bachelor’s diploma in education at The University of Texas at El Paso last December, but frustration set in when she began to search for a job. “Finding a job in the field of education is a challenging task,” says Ortiz. “I am planning on going to graduate school this coming fall semester in order to increase my chances of being hired.”

For the past few years, she studied in classrooms, sitting among other students at aged desks, tapping at laptop keys as professors delivered lectures. But now, that chapter of her life has closed as she begins a new more difficult journey. Right now she hunts for a job that can provide a stable income while she waits to begin the career to which she devoted four and a half years of preparation.