Madera student grew up working in the fields. It’s led her to seek a career in medicine
Seeing her parents work in the agricultural fields is what got Elizabeth Gonzales-Cortes interested in the medical field.
She would run to her parents, both immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, when they got home from work with sore bodies and heads aching from the heat.
“I felt guilty that they were working really hard and working in really poor conditions,” Gonzales-Cortes said. “I really wanted to be there for them.”
She worked alongside them herself at times, and also helped care for her six younger siblings at home. Despite the workload, she excelled at school and provided service to her community.
Gonzales-Cortes, 18, will be graduating from Madera South High School this year. She has committed to attend UC Irvine in the fall, where she wants to study biology. Her decision to attend UC Irvine came after a period of uncertainty about financial aid because of the barriers that students with parents who don’t have Social Security numbers face when they apply for it.
“We’re very proud of her for giving it her all,” her father, Manuel Ruiz Cruz, said in Spanish. “She often comes home late and falls asleep late because of her homework. We are so happy that she is accomplishing her dreams.”
Gonzales-Cortes will be graduating from high school as a certified nursing assistant and plans to work as one to help put herself through college. Her goal is to become an ophthalmologist, or eye care specialist.
“Many people don’t realize that our eyes are very crucial,” Gonzales-Cortes said. “I want to advocate for my people because, often, glasses are expensive. I know from experience that not everyone could afford getting glasses.”
It will not be the first time Gonzales-Cortes advocated for her community. She’s been involved in Madera County’s Students Working Against Tobacco Youth Coalition and in Cal-HOSA, which stands for Health Occupation Students of America.
As a volunteer, she’s served meals to Madera’s homeless population and helped organize shoe donations for the city’s children with the Madera Leo Club, which raises money to buy children’s clothing.
“I bagged the shoes that I was going to give to my siblings,” Gonzales-Cortes said. “I didn’t know until my siblings came home, and they came so happy with the bag of shoes. That really made me emotional.”
Getting out of her comfort zone has been challenging at times, but Gonzales-Cortes has taken inspiration from her brothers, who she said always speak up about injustice when they see it.
Gonzales-Cortes grew up feeding them and changing their diapers to help her parents. Now, she’s trying to encourage them to get out of their comfort zone and go to college, too.
She said her parents have taught her the value of perseverance through rain or shine.
“They always come home with a smile even though they’re exhausted, even though their clothes are dirty, their hands are green from picking tomatoes,” Gonzales-Cortes said. “That really has taught me, even though life is going to be hard and it’s challenging, you just need to keep at it because, at the end of the day, you’re providing for your loved ones.”
Ojo: In Madera County, 17.2% of all residents have a college degree, according to the U.S. Census.
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