Echo staff report
The†Overcoming Adversity Keeping Strong Event is an annual fundraising and scholarship program that pays tribute to students who have overcome tremendous odds to become personally and academically successful.
Here are biographies provided by the RCTC Foundation.
Beth Leeper
The words ìfighterî and ìsurvivorî probably have more meaning to Beth Leeper than they do to others her age. She has a disease called Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of cancer.
For more than two years leukemia ruled her life. Going through chemo treatment at 12 meant her middle school years were hard. She missed a lot of school and people saw her as ìdifferent.î
Without the team of doctors and her support system, Beth says she wouldnít be preparing for high school graduation now. Her caretaker team has a 95 percent cure rate and she is grateful for their help.
Beth is well acquainted with loss, losing her stepmother due to a brain tumor, her father due to a broken heart, her stepfather due to heart problems, and her elderly grandmother. She almost lost her own life to cancer on four occasions. Coming from that, she has decided the only thing she can do is be positive. Beth says ìyou will never see me without a smile.î
Her goal is to become a child-life specialist and work with children and their families who are in hospitals dealing with uncontrollable situations.
Beth says that she will overcome cancer and help others to do the same. According to her, ìCancer will not win.î
Amber Guillen
A diagnosis of a parentís serious mental illness years ago is connected to a number of hardships for Amber Guillen and her family.
She has faced obstacles head-on, learning and growing all the while. In fact, her high school counselor, Courtney Dahlby, lists ìbrilliantî and ìdeterminedî among Amberís many qualities.
Over the years, Amber has learned important skills through her parentís illness. Among them, she points to problem-solving and, more specifically, to her ability to deal with difficult people with patience and empathy, noting that ìdisrespect is never the answer.î
In fact, since she was 8, Amber and her family members have dealt with countless rash choices, including abrupt moves, once from Minnesota to Georgia in a matter of days. Another recurring challenge has to do with family income and persevering through difficult financial times. Amber is employed, working to help pay for both ìnecessities and wants.î
On top of it all, she seeks challenging courses in high school and participates in extracurricular activities, including choir and track and field. Notably, Dahlby appreciates Amberís ìexceptionally humble presenceî over many years and now sees her as an ìideal college candidate.î
Carroll Harrod
Carroll was the third born child of seven. His father worked two full-time jobs to support his family, but it wasnít enough.
They moved from one low-income neighborhood to another, watching their father rise early every morning and come home late every night. On weekends, he had a fiery temper. He was physically abusive to all of them, but years later, his siblings told him he bore the brunt.
When he was 11, his parents divorced, and, he never saw his father again. His mother went from one dead-end job to the next. At 16 he got his driverís license, withdrew from high school, and got a GED. Carroll took his younger siblings to and from school, did laundry, cleaned the house, bought groceries and prepared meals.
After the military, Carroll felt regret every time he saw ìGEDî listed at the bottom of his rÈsumÈ and wanted to replace it with an associateís degree; he has chosen nursing as his field of study.
Carroll has broken the cycle of abuse. He loves and cherishes his wife and two daughters, and he is a mentor to others.
ìMany of us grew up in broken homes, and yet we strive to break the cycle and help others to do the same. I am honored to be among those who will,î Harrod said.
Andrea Hart
Andrea Hart acknowledges that her many experiences have shaped her into the person she is today; however, the nature and the number of the obstacles she has faced truly distinguish her.
For instance, her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when Andrea was finishing her middle-school years. As her motherís condition has progressively worsened, Andreaís responsibilities have increased. Now, she tends to household chores, shops for necessities, helps her youngest brother with homework, and provides in-home care daily for her mother.
Her high school counselor, Dr. Casie Nauman, highlights Andreaís work ethic and helpfulness, writing that she ìis not one that grows tired of helping,î that, in fact, ìshe assists because she wants to.î Nauman adds that Andrea ìworks every day at overcoming adversitiesî while maintaining a ìpositive outlookî and a ìhigh standard of success.î
In all, Andrea has developed an awareness of the need to use her time and resources wisely, balancing needs and wants. Given these details, it should come as no surprise to learn that her high school counselor calls her ìan inspiration.î
Diana Sanchez
In 2004, at the age of 4, Diana crossed the border from Mexico to the United States with two aunts and an uncle ñ only one of them over the age of 18.
They were in search of a better life in a completely new place, where they didnít speak the language or know what would come next. On top of this, Dianaís mother was pregnant at the time and had to stay back in Mexico, unable to join with the family until the following year. When Diana thinks back on this time, she understands the sacrifice and struggle that it took for her family to get her here, and she knows they would do it all again.
At 14, Diana was diagnosed with clinical depression, which she took as an opportunity to understand herself better and begin coping with some things sheíd been struggling with for years.
There were times it felt like everything was being ripped apart, especially her family. Her grandparents had their visas taken away and were sent back to Mexico in 2017. Later that year, her uncle who had always been there for her, had his visa stripped as well
Through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Diana has been able to work, go to school, and get on the path to citizenship. This makes her a Dreamer, something sheís proud of, and she wants to be an example for the other children in her family.
Rasha Al salehy
Perseverance is a buzz word that gets thrown around quite a bit, but for Rasha Al salehy itís simply a way of life.
Through war and relocation, she has continued to put one foot in front of the other, always moving forward. After ISIS invaded Iraq, Rasha and her family had to leave friends, family and careers behind for their own safety. They emigrated from Iraq to Rochester and had to start again from zero. But that didnít deter Rasha, who looked at the Mayo Clinic and said, ìOne day I will work there.î
She has been doing just that for two years and is completing her first year at RCTC.
As a mother of four, Rasha continues to persevere. Every day she wakes up early to give her daughter her medications, make breakfast for the family, and even cook that nightís meal because there wonít be any other time in the day. If you see her after she gets home at 11 p.m., sheíll be studying.
With a goal of completing the Dental Assistant program at RCTC and eventually working in the Mayo Clinicís Department of Dental Specialties, Rasha has been undeterred. Along the way she has picked up a certificate as a phlebotomy technician and earned a National Healthcare Associate certificate.
Rasha credits her husbandís support as one of the things that help her overcome challenges. She says she would not be where she is today without his support and his consistent encouragement to pursue and reach her goals. He also takes care of their children and tends to family responsibilities so she can attend school and work the night shift.
Rasha has learned that there is no success without sacrifice and, in her case, there is no doubt that she will be successful at anything she sets her mind to.