His goal was to get a better education, but to do that Federico Perez Mendez had to leave his parents behind when he and his brother Jose left Guatemala. They’ve been living here since May of 2017 and so far his experience here in Armijo has been great.

He Is currently a junior and shared that all of the students and teachers have shown respect to him and he really appreciates that. ”Even though I came from Guatemala and I don’t know English good, all the teachers have had patience with me and so have the students,” he said.

Mendez speaks Spanish and a Mayan language called Mam, the language of “an indigenous people in the western highlands of Guatemala,” according to Wikipedia. He is now trying to learn English as his third language. ”It’s really hard sometimes and stressful but I’m getting the hang of it,” he said.

He has no plans to go back to Guatemala. “There is nothing back there for me,” he said. “I can achieve greater things such as an education and a better career here than I will ever have back there.” He can see himself, five years in the future, living on his own and being financially secure. “I don’t want to depend on my brother for my whole life,” he said. “I want to have a good education and a good paying job to be able to help my parents.”