The 2024 CWU graduate had just moved to the United States after spending the first 16 years of her life in Colima, Mexico. Even though she didn’t speak a word of English, she and her mother decided to go through the legal immigration process and join her stepfather in Grandview, Washington.
But when immigration officials in Ciudad Juarez didn’t allow her mother to cross the border, Gonzalez was on her own, sent to live with a stepfather she barely knew.
“It all happened really fast,” she said. “I was looking forward to living in the United States with my mom and her husband, but it didn’t work out that way. She had crossed the border illegally with her family 15 years before, and she chose to tell the truth, which meant she had to stay behind.”
As difficult as it was to be separated from her mother when she was still a child, Gonzalez decided to keep forging ahead.
“I didn’t want to go ahead without her, but I felt like I had to go,” she said. “I needed to go to school and get an education so I could make a better life for myself.”
Gonzalez, now 24, tried to make the best of her new situation, but without knowing the language or the culture, she often felt overwhelmed. She had only met her stepfather, Francisco Madrigal, a couple of times, and all of a sudden, she was living under his roof and under his rules, with no clear path forward.
“I never had a father figure before because my biological father left when I was very young,” she said. “It was really hard at first, and I didn’t know how I was going to get through it.”
Fortunately for Gonzalez, the population of Grandview is predominantly Latinx, which helped ease the language barrier. She built a solid support network at the high school and learned how to fit in socially, but she still had to figure out a lot of things on her own.
“At the time, I was really excited to come here, but it was hard being without my mom,” she said. “There were times when I felt very alone, but things eventually got better.”
Three years after getting stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border, Gonzalez’s mom, Zoila Romero, was permitted to join her family in Grandview.
Being reunited with her mother gave Gonzalez the peace of mind she needed to excel at Yakima Valley College (YVC), where she laid the groundwork to eventually become a teacher.
“I have always enjoyed going to school, and I always knew that I wanted to go to college,” she said. “I was able to save money by going to community college for the first three years, and then I transferred to CWU after completing my AA in the spring of 2021. That was one of the best choices I have ever made.”
Home Away from Home
Gonzalez moved to Ellensburg in the winter of 2022 and quickly immersed herself in campus life and the local community.
She double majored in family and consumer sciences (FCS) and Spanish, and went on to earn teaching certifications in both subjects last spring.
During her two-plus years in Ellensburg, she worked at Safeway and at the Early Childhood Learning Center on campus.
As if two majors and two jobs weren’t enough, Gonzalez also served as a translator for the new CWU website—which launched in September 2023—and helped teach Spanish to CWU faculty and staff earlier this year as part of a Human Resources Department initiative called Wildcat Spanish.
“I just loved living in Ellensburg and being part of the CWU community,” she said. “It’s so close-knit, and you really get to know your professors and classmates. I’m very thankful for all of the people I met there. I feel very lucky.”
One mentor who stood out during Gonzalez’s time at Central was World Languages Professor Andrea Herrera-Dulcet. In fact, Gonzalez doesn’t know where she would be without her.
“Andrea is an amazing professor, but she was also a huge supporter for me personally,” she said. “She was always there for me, and she helped me find the resources I needed inside and outside of the classroom.”
Herrera-Dulcet said she felt a special connection with Gonzalez, in part because of everything she had been through before arriving at CWU.
She was inspired by how hard Gonzalez worked to improve her standing in life, and she felt like lending her student a helping hand was the least she could do.
“It’s very admirable what Angela has been able to do, but it has not been easy for her,” Herrera-Dulcet said. “Everything she has achieved in life, she has earned. When she sets her mind to something, she does it, and that’s what really stood out to me.”
Herrera-Dulcet made clear that Gonzalez is more of an anomaly than a typical success story. Unlike many young migrants, she managed to navigate an unforgiving immigration system and clear all of the required hurdles to create her own destiny.
“It’s very easy to get lost through the cracks,” Herrera-Dulcet said. “The system is designed to not help people who are vulnerable, and most of them do end up falling through. Angela is extremely strong, but it would be nice if people like her didn’t have to fight so hard.”
As resilient as Gonzalez proved herself to be, she still experienced moments of uncertainty where she felt like giving up. Herrera-Dulcet said she would come to her crying and feeling lost, only to pick herself back up again.
“I believe Angela’s ability to keep climbing the mountain, no matter what’s standing in her way, is her true strength,” Herrera-Dulcet said, likening Gonzalez to a movie hero. “I don’t want anyone to think that what she has accomplished is achievable for everyone. Angela is a force to be reckoned with.”
Next Chapter
Now that Gonzalez has finished her dual degrees at CWU, her teaching career is beginning to take shape.
Shortly after completing her teaching practicum at Housel Middle School in Prosser last spring, she was hired as a Spanish teacher at East Valley High School near Yakima.
There have been some ups and downs this fall—most notably, being so close in age to her students—but she has found a way to persevere, just as she has done during every other chapter in her life.
“Some days are difficult, I’m not going to lie,” Gonzalez said. “I’m a brand-new teacher, and there are going to be challenges that come with that. But I feel very fortunate to have gained so much knowledge from my mentors and professors at CWU. They helped give me the confidence I need to keep improving as an educator.
One element of Gonzalez’s character that has always remained true is her belief in herself. She built a strong teaching foundation during her five years at CWU and YVC, and she feels strongly that she has the power to impact her students’ lives in a positive way.
“I have already met some students who remind me of myself when I was in high school,” she said. “They don’t speak English and they don’t feel like they can talk to anyone. But I tell them, ‘I know how you feel. You are not alone, and I am here to support you.’ Sometimes, that’s all they need to hear.”
Gonzalez has worked with some of her East Valley colleagues to help them relate better to monolingual students who may feel marginalized in their new surroundings. She also encourages her students to find ways to include their new classmates who may feel excluded or vulnerable.
“All they want is for someone to show them kindness,” she said. “Even if it’s just a smile—those small gestures mean so much to students who are finding their way in a new school. I know from experience how hard it can be to fit in, and I want to show others that they really can make a difference.”
Even though she still has a long way to go in her teaching career, Gonzalez already feels like she has reached the top of the mountain. She has overcome so much since moving to the U.S. eight years ago that it’s hard not to feel a sense of accomplishment.
But she isn’t done yet. She’s going to continue fighting so people like her can discover their true potential—and, most importantly, find happiness.
“I just want to bring some awareness that people like me do belong,” Gonzalez said. “Our journeys in life may be different than yours, but we’re just trying to make the most of the opportunities we have been given. We just need people to help show us the way.”