{"id":23761,"date":"2021-05-10T22:15:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T02:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2021\/05\/11\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:20:45","slug":"she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Paola Sierra de Valerio of Lawrence has been selected as the Center for Health Professions Student Speaker.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a girl, growing up in the Dominican Republic, Paola Sierra de Valerio, now a resident of Lawrence, dreamed of graduating from college in the U.S. one day.<\/p>\n

On May 15, she will fulfill that dream when she receives her Associate Degree in General Studies: Health Specialization<\/a> from Northern Essex Community College.<\/p>\n

Sierra has been selected to share her story\u2014one that she hopes will inspire other immigrants\u2014as the student speaker for the Center for Health Professions May 15 Commencement Ceremony.<\/p>\n

In nominating her for this honor, Sheila Corsaro, academic advisor for the college\u2019s PACE Program, a federally funded support program for first generation college students, wrote \u201cPaola is truly one of the most dedicated students I have ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing her story, it would be hard to disagree. While working to support herself, learning the English language, becoming a U.S. citizen, and falling in love and getting married, Sierra never lost sight of her educational goal.<\/p>\n

She graduated from high school in the Dominican Republic in 2009 and moved with her family to Spain, where she studied English.<\/p>\n

Still holding on to her dream, she boarded a plane in 2014 headed for Miami. \u201cI came with just my luggage and myself,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

After a stay in New York, where she met her future husband, the couple moved to Lawrence in 2016.<\/p>\n

Throughout her education, Sierra has worked full time\u2014most recently as a patient service representative for Greater Lawrence Family Health Center\u2014and attended college full time, earning an almost perfect 3.92 GPA.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been an easy journey, but Sierra wants others, especially other immigrants, to know that it is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen immigrants come to this country, the first thing they do is go to work. Learning English and further education are often forgotten,\u201d she says. \u201cI never lost my determination to learn and graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after arriving in Lawrence, Sierra enrolled in Northern Essex\u2019s Bridges to College and Careers program<\/a>, a grant-funded program that provides a pathway for adult English language learners who want to attend college.<\/p>\n

It was in the Bridges to Colleges and Careers Program that Sierra discovered her interest in health care and began to form an education and career path.<\/p>\n

In the fall, she will transfer to UMass Lowell to pursue a bachelor\u2019s in community health education or health psychology. Eventually she wants to earn a master\u2019s in health communications and build a career as a health educator\/health psychologist.<\/p>\n

When Sierra addresses, the graduates on May 15, her husband and her mother\u2019s friend will be in the audience cheering her on, while the rest of her family watches the livestream from Spain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

This year, due to the pandemic, Northern Essex Community College is holding five smaller graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 15 on the Haverhill Campus, organized by academic center. Each ceremony will include a student speaker and traditional awards will be presented throughout the day. Students will have the opportunity to cross the commencement stage and receive their well-earned associate degree or certificate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paola Sierra de Valerio has been selected as the student speaker at the Health Professions Graduation Ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[203,208,258,368,580],"class_list":["post-23761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-students","tag-dominican-diaspora","tag-dominican-republic","tag-first-generation-college-student","tag-lawrence","tag-student-speaker"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShe Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paola Sierra de Valerio has been selected as the student speaker at the Health Professions Graduation Ceremony.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-11T02:15:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T19:20:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/\",\"name\":\"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-11T02:15:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-13T19:20:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"NECC News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\",\"name\":\"Ernie Greenslade\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ernie Greenslade\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News","og_description":"Paola Sierra de Valerio has been selected as the student speaker at the Health Professions Graduation Ceremony.","og_url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/","og_site_name":"NECC News","article_published_time":"2021-05-11T02:15:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-13T19:20:45+00:00","author":"Ernie Greenslade","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ernie Greenslade","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/","name":"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream - NECC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-05-11T02:15:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-13T19:20:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/she-arrived-in-the-u-s-with-a-suitcase-and-a-dream\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"She Arrived in the U.S. with a Suitcase and a Dream"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"NECC News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9","name":"Ernie Greenslade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ernie Greenslade"},"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23762,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23761\/revisions\/23762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}