Morris Park student fi rst in her family to attend college
BY JASON COHEN
Morris Park resident Lisbeth Peralta
came to America fi ve years ago
not knowing any English. Today, she
is set to become the fi rst in her family
to attend college.
Peralta, a senior at DeWitt Clinton
High School, 100 West Mosholu Parkway,
was born and raised in the Dominican
Republic. She told the Bronx
Times that life on the island was quite
different than in the Boogie Down.
Coming to New York was a big culture
shock for Peralta. According to Peralta,
the Dominican Republic is more
laid back and there is a much slower
pace of living. Additionally, many
people back home are friendlier and
don’t work 24/7. Ultimately, life was
very different for her here.
“I had always envisioned New
York to be a really wealthy place,”
she said. “But when I moved here, I
saw there were so many areas of the
Bronx that had been forgotten. I never
thought there would be poor parts of
the neighborhood, but there are people
here struggling, just like everywhere
else.”
With everyone at home speaking
Spanish,0 the biggest challenge was
overcoming the language barrier.
“I was fortunate enough to meet
a lot of people who spoke Spanish in
my neighborhood and at my school,
which helped me feel more comfortable,”
she said. “But there were still
instances when I had to step up for
my family and use the small amount
of English I knew at the time to help
translate things for them, which
could be diffi cult.”
As life early on in the U.S. was diffi
cult for Peralta, she credits her success
in school to a team of English as
a Second Language (ESL) teachers in
middle school. They helped her learn
English and took her on trips, so she
could get to know New York better.
“I think that played a really important
role in helping me adjust to
the culture here, because there are so
many other things you have to learn,
other than just how to speak English,”
Peralta said.
What really changed everything
for Peralta was the Student Success
Centers (SSC). SSC is operated in
partnership with Good Shepherd Services,
which is staffed by a cohort of
peer leaders, or successful upperclassmen
who are trained to support
other students in college preparedness,
applying for fi nancial aid, fi nding
an internship and participating
in community service. SSCs not only
help students navigate the stress of
the college admissions process, but
also give peer leaders valuable leadership
experience and a sense of ownership
over the program.
Peralta fi rst heard about the SSC
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 34 CT. 22-28, 2021 BTR
Lisbeth Peralta, a senior at DeWitt Clinton High School, prepares to be the fi rst in her family
to go to college next fall. Photo courtesy Lisbeth Peralta
in ninth grade, but couldn’t apply
or go through the interview process
to be a peer leader until 10th grade.
She signed up the following year and
since then SSC has changed her life.
“Since the most important part of
being a peer leader is helping other
students, the SSC has taught me how
to be more empathetic and supportive,”
she said. “I also used to be a
pretty shy person, but the SSC helped
me step up to become a leader. Overall,
I feel like I have better future
plans because of the SSC. It helped
give me direction in my career and
let me explore a lot of different career
paths.”
Now, a year away from going to college,
she and her classmates at SSC
help other students prepare for higher
education. They assist with the college
process by planning virtual workshops
and events, and teach other students
about the importance of having community
service and internship experience,
and how to prepare for the SAT
and apply for fi nancial aid.
According to Peralta, the students
she mentors have all told her how grateful
they are for her help.
SSCs are supported by the NYC Department
of Education. As a result of
the pandemic, major budget cuts led
to the closure of four SSCs during the
2020-2021 school year, while many others
had to signifi cantly reduce programming.
However, this did not stop
Peralta and her classmates from mentoring
students.
While Peralta had a lot of family
members who were affected by COVID
19, being a peer leader and wanting
to be a good role model to the students
kept her going.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,
since everything was virtual, and one
of the biggest challenges was keeping
in touch with students,” she said. “It’s
easier to connect with them in person.
But the pandemic also made working
at the SSC even more important, because
it was a time when a lot of students
needed the extra support. For
example, we helped students research
community service opportunities that
were still available during the pandemic.”
As she looks forward to college next
fall, Peralta is still in disbelief of where
her life is. To come from to not knowing
any English to being the fi rst person in
her family to attend college is a surreal
feeling, she said. She said she would be
remiss if she did not thank her parents
for all of the support over the years.
When she was a child, they helped her
with her homework every night and
spoke with her about her future plans.
Her goal is to study social work and
hopefully attend Columbia University.
“I’m paving the way for my younger
sibling and cousins,” she said. “I do feel
a lot of pressure to succeed though, because
the spotlight is on me and I don’t
want to let my family down. I want to
make them proud.”