{"id":1516,"date":"2020-10-02T15:22:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T15:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developmenttwo.marymount.edu\/academics\/?page_id=1516"},"modified":"2023-02-14T09:25:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T14:25:52","slug":"onelio-mencho-aguilar-14","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/academics\/college-of-sciences-and-humanities\/school-of-interdisciplinary-studies\/undergraduate-programs\/alumni-spotlight\/onelio-mencho-aguilar-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Onelio Mencho-Aguilar, ’14"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This article was originally featured on the Alexandria City Public School’s (ACPS) ACPSExpress<\/a>, and was written by theACPS Office of Communications.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Onelio Mencho-Aguilar was 13 years old, he left his mother and siblings to embark on a treacherous journey through rural Guatemala to the U.S. alone. His hope? That he could find a job and send money to his struggling family.<\/p>\n

He spoke neither English nor Spanish, only Mam, a Mayan language used by just half a million people.<\/p>\n

But against the odds, he found a home here in Alexandria. And with the support he found, he thrived \u2014 first as a student at T.C. Williams High School and now as a teacher at the International Academy, where new arrivals to the U.S. are educated and supported.<\/p>\n

The soft-spoken 27-year-old uses his own incredible story to inspire and encourage his students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI share my story with students every day, especially my new students. I share a lot of things in common with them. So every single day I try to cheer them up, because I know that they\u2019re going through a lot of hardships in life. Finding that common ground with them is really helpful because I want to be that person that they can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a child growing up in the hills of Quetzaltenango, he was all too aware of the struggle his single mother of four children faced to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

She scraped together a living by working in corn and potato fields and weaving huipiles, traditional Mayan dresses, to sell.<\/p>\n

One day, when he told her he planned to leave and go to the U.S. to earn money, his mother understandably said no. But a few months later, facing unthinkable hardship, she reluctantly agreed to let her determined son take his chances.<\/p>\n

At first, he said, the journey was exciting, one big adventure to be traveling through cities and countries as a wide-eyed teen.<\/p>\n

Yet when he reached Mexico, things changed and the reality of what he had undertaken hit him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I started taking the train out through Mexico, I realized that I had taken a really dangerous decision. I thought about going home several times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It took him a month to reach the desert on the Mexico\/Arizona border, where he paid a coyote<\/em> to lead him to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked in the desert for four days, and we didn\u2019t have enough water and food and we were lost. So that was very, very dangerous and scary for a lot of us. I remember that there were a lot of young people with us as well. I got sick, I thought I was going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually one night, he saw lights in the distance. A feeling of relief poured over him as his dream of America came into view.<\/p>\n

From Arizona, he traveled to Los Angeles and got a job on a construction site. But when his age was discovered, he was fired.<\/p>\n

With no money and nowhere to stay, he wandered the city for days, frightened and alone. He was helped by a Mexican woman who saw him crying at a bus stop. She arranged for him to travel to Virginia, where he reunited with a father he hadn\u2019t seen for 10 years.<\/p>\n

Despite a difficult relationship, he credits his father with enrolling him at school \u2014 first in Arlington and then to Minnie Howard, and later T.C. Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember my first day going to school and we were taken to the library, and I just fell in love with the books and the smell of books. I was just surprised by the number of books in the library, too, because where I came from, we didn\u2019t have access to even a library and so seeing that here opened my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of amazing teachers, and I think that\u2019s one of the many reasons why I succeeded \u2014 was because of great teachers who really cared about me, cared about my learning and also cared about my well-being. I had a teacher at T.C. who was the first person that noticed that I was in need and started reaching out to social workers who could help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

To graduate on time, Mencho-Aguilar devoted himself to his studies, enrolling in summer school and night classes.<\/p>\n

When his father returned to Guatemala, he ended up in foster care. Yet his academic success led to him being featured in the Washington Post<\/a> nine years ago. He went on to study at NOVA and then transferred to Marymount University, majoring in English literature, with a goal of entering law school.<\/p>\n

But an internship at a law firm in his senior year of college put an end to any legal ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I just didn\u2019t like anything related to law. Then an opportunity came up, and I started substituting at T.C.\u2019s International Academy. I was a long-term substitute teacher, and I just fell in love with interacting with the students, learning about them and teaching them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say there was a moment when I realized that I could actually make a positive change in this world and inspire other students.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is now a permanent and valuable member of the teaching staff, and works alongside some of his former teachers who were so important to his own success.<\/p>\n

His life experience has become a major asset to his career, as he can relate to so many of his students who find themselves in a similar position to himself as a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am someone that looks like them, someone who speaks their language now and someone who has actually made it and was able to graduate and go to college. I think that sends them a strong message. Like my students, I still miss home sometimes. I left family and had to get used to the new culture here, learn the language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust talking about the food, the music or even the festivals that we celebrate in our countries helps, especially if they are feeling homesick. I want them to think, \u2018oh, yeah, I should motivate myself and work hard.’\u201d<\/p>\n

And the satisfaction from seeing his students graduate?<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best feelings of my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n