IVCC’s Escatel: role model, advocate for Illinois Valley immigrants

Sara Escatel stood out in her kindergarten class because she was the only Hispanic student. It would be five years before she encountered a teacher who spoke Spanish, and by then Escatel was on her way to her life’s work: making sure immigrants didn’t stand alone in their new communities.

Born in Texas to parents born and educated in Mexico, Escatel was often elected interpreter and translator for family, friends or “anyone who came to the door, really, and asked my mom if I could help. That helped shape who I am.”

At school in Mendota, she began helping new classmates navigate the hallways, a new language and a new school system, and felt a part of her community. “For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like less of a person!”

School aides, bilingual teachers, and preschool supports so familiar today had yet to be developed then. Escatel didn’t receive bilingual assistance until fifth grade, but by then she didn’t need it. “I went there because it was a social hour for me, and I could help other students.” She loved the school’s single Hispanic aide. “She spoke the language, and I related so well to her!”

That fifth-grade experience gave Escatel a blueprint for her future. “I never saw people like me,” she recalled. “Without that, you feel like you don't belong.” Helping immigrants feel at home and integrate productively in local society became her life’s mission, and she became a leading advocate in the Illinois Valley.

A new country and family expectations for their success can leave some young Hispanics adrift, orphaned from their old life but not feeling a part of their new country either. “I see our students struggle because they don’t know which culture to identify with or embrace, and they end up losing their language and their culture. They need to understand and appreciate where they come from.”

The conflict over fitting in touched her own children. Her teenaged son once told her he wouldn’t speak Spanish in public because he didn’t want to be different. “That hit me!” she recalled.

Escatel learned from her parents to embrace both halves of her heritage. They routinely immersed their seven children in family life through regular visits to Mexico. And they insisted their children go to college.

“For my parents – who didn’t have high school educations -- to value education was unreal for me!” she still marvels. “My dad always pushed us to do more than they did.”

Treks to Mexico took the family beyond prosperous resort communities into “poverty galore.” Seeing what other countries don’t have taught her not to take for granted the life she has.

Her parents’ advice led Escatel and most of her siblings to Illinois Valley Community College, where she obtained a criminal justice degree and her siblings launched their careers, mostly in community service areas.

She decided not to pursue law and pivoted to a different role to help immigrants become self-sufficient and assimilate successfully. She is Illinois Valley Community College’s Director of Adult Education, and she has helped create or worked through the Illinois Valley Hispanic Partnership Council and the Valley Immigrant Advocates (VIA).

“The Council is an awareness piece and the VIA is a legal piece. The Council brings cultural activities and provides scholarships. In the VIA, I know how to get access to services for immigration status, legal help, housing, basic needs, employment, or medical help.”

IVCC’s Adult Education Department provides a pathway to high school diplomas, U.S. citizenship and job training, which can all be steps to a better life.

If their parents don’t aspire to higher education because it was never available to them, young Hispanics are unlikely to pursue it, succeed at it if they do, or even realize all their options. “Parents will say they just want their kids to finish high school or just get a job. Whatever our students finish here is more than they ever did.”

That’s why College organizations such as Project Success or Get Set and the role models they expose students to are key in providing “extra attention you don’t get at home,” Escatel said.

Opportunities in the Illinois Valley are improving, but have a way to go, Escatel said. Hispanic representation still isn’t widespread in top-level government leadership roles, but communities are beginning to view the Hispanic population as an asset. Cultural events are emerging, and activities like Mendota’s recent Amigo Fest or IVCC’s Hispanic Heritage activities this month draw diverse audiences and unify communities, she said.

Inspiration can also come from “a ton of Hispanic professionals” in medical, legal, social work and other fields, like those she invited to an alumni panel at IVCC recently.

Even closer to home, Escatel has seen a revitalization in her own neighborhood. She noted proudly that she’s not the only Hispanic on the block anymore.