Celebrating Latino Leaders: Evelyn Robles-Rivas
"It’s important that we as leaders understand that Latinos are coming from different places. They have different cultures and different ways to approach the educational system."
Evelyn Robles-Rivas
Principal of Worthington Hooker K-2 School
Hometown: Barranquitas, Puerto Rico
Evelyn Robles was born and raised in a small town in central Puerto Rico. She was the youngest of seven children.
“I was the baby in the family. My father died when I was 13, so my mother took the lead. She never remarried; she was just devoted to us."
Growing up, she saw her older brothers and sisters start working as young teenagers and take full-time jobs as soon as they graduated high school. But Robles’ mother had a different plan for her.
“My mother always told me, ‘No. You need to go to school. You need to go to college. You need to be a professional. You have the potential. And your father was always telling you that you were going to go to college.’ They didn’t have the opportunity to go but they instilled it in me.”
Robles became the first in her family to attend college when she went to the University of Puerto Rico, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting. At 22 years old, she set off with her mother to Connecticut, where one of her sisters had relocated.
“I stayed in Hartford for a couple of years with one of my sisters, and I went to Capitol Community College to learn English as a Second Language. In Puerto Rico, we learn English as a second language in school, but we never practice. So, it was important to me to become fluent.”
Robles career plan of becoming an accountant got off the ground when she was hired by a small firm in Hartford. However, she quickly realized she had made a mistake. She hated spending time in a small office doing numbers. By chance, she met the bilingual supervisor for a local vocational-technical school system who encouraged her to become a bilingual teacher. Robles found a part-time job as a teacher and never looked back.
“It was very inspiring. These students really needed help. I truly loved it and decided that I needed to become a real teacher. I truly, truly found what I wanted to do.”
Within a year, she was entering a master’s program at the University of Connecticut in bilingual bicultural education. There she encountered new challenges.
“As a first-generation Latino in this country, it was difficult. I needed to compete with native English-speaking students. Some of the challenges were resources. I went to school on scholarships. My family was very supportive, but they were not professionals. I had the moral support. Getting used to the system was also difficult for me. I didn’t have a car, so I had to take the bus all the time and get rides. It was difficult, but at the same time, what helped me through all of it was the support of my family.”
“As a first-generation Latino in this country, it was difficult. I needed to compete with native English-speaking students. Some of the challenges were resources. I went to school on scholarships. My family was very supportive, but they were not professionals. I had the moral support. Getting used to the system was also difficult for me. I didn’t have a car, so I had to take the bus all the time and get rides. It was difficult, but at the same time, what helped me through all of it was the support of my family.”
“As a first-generation Latino in this country, it was difficult. I needed to compete with native English-speaking students. Some of the challenges were resources. I went to school on scholarships. My family was very supportive, but they were not professionals. I had the moral support. Getting used to the system was also difficult for me. I didn’t have a car, so I had to take the bus all the time and get rides. It was difficult, but at the same time, what helped me through all of it was the support of my family.”
“As a first-generation Latino in this country, it was difficult. I needed to compete with native English-speaking students. Some of the challenges were resources. I went to school on scholarships. My family was very supportive, but they were not professionals. I had the moral support. Getting used to the system was also difficult for me. I didn’t have a car, so I had to take the bus all the time and get rides. It was difficult, but at the same time, what helped me through all of it was the support of my family.”
Evelyn’s mentor
When she went to UCONN, Robles met a professor who became her mentor and adviser, Liliana Minaya-Rowe.
“She was absolutely wonderful. She was a very structured, meticulous, and powerful woman. She was the one who said, ‘I’m going to walk you through this and help you understand what you are going to do in order to finish and be successful.’ I learned from her to be organized, to set up goals and set up deadlines to accomplish those goals, and to focus myself on accomplishing those goals. Now, she’s my friend.”
Why she gives back to the community
Robles is a member and volunteer at the Holy Trinity Church in Wallingford, a board member at the Spanish Community of Wallingford, SCOW, and a former board member at Junta for Progressive Action.
“If I found great mentors throughout my career, I can be a mentor too. I feel it is my responsibility, especially to children and young adults. Right now, everything depends on them. They don’t need to become doctors and lawyers. They need to create a strong character. They really need to understand who they are and what they want to do in order to become good people.
A lot of times we see young kids that have mom, dad, they have everything, and the first obstacle they find, they give up. I always tell my story to them. I say, 'If I could do it, you can do it too.' It’s a powerful tool."
Her profession
Robles is principal of New Haven’s Worthington Hooker School. The student body is the most culturally diverse in the city, with 17 different languages represented. The school includes a significant population of refugees who have been resettled by Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS).
"As a building principal, there is a lot of responsibility. You have to make sure that you have a safe building, that you have a great classroom environment that is conducive to learning, and you need to make sure that you support your staff.
I have students who have come from refugee camps with a lot of needs - social and emotional as well as linguistic. I have to put together a support plan for them, and work with other community agencies to make sure that they feel welcome, that they feel empowered, that they feel safe. It’s a great opportunity to involve parents, teachers, and the community. I love to be there.”
On what it means to be a successful Latino and what is needed for more Latinos to be successful
“I think it’s important that we as leaders understand that Latinos are coming from different places. They have different cultures and different ways to approach the educational system. They have different priorities and we need to, we must, engage families in the educational plans for these kids.
I think it’s important that they feel that they are important and needed in the community, that they can bring their expertise to the community. It is very important for us to be visible, to lead by example.
There are so many opportunities, scholarships and student loans, whatever it takes. I am a real example that you can prepare yourself. You can become a professional. And there is opportunity if you want to get it.”
