When Elizabeth Jaimes first revealed that fellow classmate Monica Cardenas was her
mother, no one believed her.
鈥淓veryone said, 鈥楴o, she鈥檚 not. No way.鈥� Some of them, to this day, they鈥檙e not convinced,鈥� Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth and Monica, of Hanover Park, are both Licensed Practical Nursing students at 91制片厂. Though they take the same classes and are in the same study group, the mother-daughter duo came to the program in incredibly different ways.
Elizabeth entered 91制片厂 in 2014, fresh out of Hoffman Estates High School. She had considered a career in the medical field but was hesitant to commit to a program.
鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 want to start something that I wouldn鈥檛 finish later on,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to make sure I was actually serious about it.鈥�
Any doubt Elizabeth had was erased when she took some Certified Nursing Assistant classes and fell in love with working with older adults.
Monica had encouraged her daughter to study nursing, too, in part because she had always thought about becoming a nurse herself. However, she was an undocumented immigrant at the time and was deterred by certain barriers that would make that path more difficult.
Instead, Monica became a hairstylist when she moved to the United States from Mexico. She did that for two decades before she decided she wanted to pursue a different career. But she knew she needed her high school diploma.
She worked with the Adult Educational Department at 91制片厂 to prepare for the High School Equivalency (HSE) exam, which she found intimidating. Monica had previously passed a test to become a licensed cosmetologist, but she was able to take both the exam and the preparatory classes in Spanish.
鈥淔or me to enter a school where I had to learn in English 鈥� I spoke English, but I didn鈥檛 write English much,鈥� Monica said. 鈥淓ven now, classes are a little bit harder for me. Even though I speak in English and write in English, I do not think in English. I translate.鈥�
She found support through one of 91制片厂鈥檚 student development specialists who became a mentor and helped to push and encourage her. She passed her exam, achieving her original goal of earning her high school diploma to become more attractive to hiring managers.
Then came the HSE graduation ceremony.
鈥淭hey made me wear that hat and all of that stuff,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 got very excited because I walked on the stage, and I shake someone鈥檚 hand. I felt really good, like I was succeeding or doing something toward getting better in life.鈥�
Monica plans to finish the program this spring, then take her Bridge to Advance Nursing classes, which will prepare her for the Registered Nursing program. She鈥檚 working toward an associate degree and plans to work with older adults.
Elizabeth, too, plans to eventually earn her master鈥檚 degree and become a nurse practitioner. She currently works as a patient care technician at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
Going to school with her mom has been interesting 鈥� and extremely valuable, according to Elizabeth.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been supporting each other, which has helped a lot,鈥� she said.
Said Monica, 鈥淚 never thought I would be going with her to school and doing the same things. I love it.鈥�