“I used to be young and reckless. When I was young, I saw only two colors and I was very narrow. As I came to live more, I became open to the bigger picture and the colors became more evident. As of today, I consistently see the picture and all the colors for what it’s worth and I became appreciative,” says Gabriel Tejeda, 25, a first-generation student at Texas A&M-San Antonio.
Gabriel admits that his teenage and young adult years were filled with wrong decisions and the all too common habit of taking everything for granted. But with strict determination derived from his emotional struggles, he has both matured and grown.
After graduating from Harlandale High School in 2004, Tejeda decided not to jump directly into college. Instead, he chose to take time off from school for an undetermined amount of time. Pursuing a higher education was not a priority.
During his time away from school, he had the opportunity to apply his free time babysitting former Texas Senator Frank Madla’s 5-year-old granddaughter Aleena Jimenez whom he grew attached to throughout the years. Madla had been a close friend of his family for many years.
On November 26, 2006, Tejeda was struck with tragic yet and life-changing news. On that Friday morning, Senator Madla died in a fire that broke out overnight in his home. Aleena and her mother were pulled out by firefighters and immediately transported to a hospital. The incident left Aleena with severe brain damage and bound to life support. Aleena was taken off life support the day after the incident.
Tejeda becomes emotional retelling the account. He takes a deep breath then tilts his head to ease the knot building in his chest.
“I wouldn’t say that this happening scarred me but it did mold me,” Tejeda said. “It took the death of a close friend, a little girl that I used to take care of for me to learn that life is short. It’s about enjoying every day and living the right life. I learned not to take so many things for granted. From both of those deaths I really became a better person.”
Persistence, one semester at a time, has paid off.
“The whole point is not giving up and just finishing what I start,” Tejeda said. “There isn’t one thing about my life that I would change because I believe that everything that I’ve gone through was just a trial for me to become the man that I am today. Sometimes you need to go through a little hell to get you to heaven.”
Statistics on first-generation students show that thirty percent of individuals who enroll in a college or university drop out after the first year of attendance.
Like many first-generation students attending A&M-San Antonio, Tejeda will challenge the statistics. It’s his duty, he says, to set the example for his younger family members who look up to him. He is determined to accomplish his goal of becoming a high school English teacher with hopes of inspiring his students to become something greater than what they have planned for themselves.
“What drives me to go to school is that I have to continue the standard and pass it down to my cousins,” Tejeda says. “It is possible to attend and finish college.”
