Beilue: ‘Here to help any who want it’

Dedicated mentors in WT’s AmeriCorps program offer aid

When Misty Rueda offered John Lerma a position five years ago to work with high school students to help them clear a path after graduation, he jumped at the opportunity. He could see himself from 25 years ago in those students.

“She knew my background,” Lerma said, “and how I might could identify with many students. For me personally, I knew the struggle of students who didn’t have a lot of money. She told me I could identify with students who really need the help. I could relate. I’d been there.”

When Lerma was a boy, his dad was a cotton-ginner. The family hopscotched all over the South Plains – Brownfield, Lamesa, Denver City, Klondike, among others. Money was tight. Opportunities were limited. The future was unclear.

That’s what Lerma and 23 other mentors in newly funded programs within West Texas A&M University often see as they work with high school students and adult learners throughout the school year.

“We’re here to help any student who wants it,” Lerma said, “but first-generation students whose parents didn’t go to college, that’s who we’re really trying to help. Again, we’ll help anybody, but this program was created to help those who don’t have the resources.

“They do want to go to college but are freaked out about the financial aspect and don’t know about all the scholarships available, and just don’t have the knowledge of how all of this works. Finally, they say, ‘I’ll just go get a job.’ That’s really who we want to help.”

Rueda is the director of the Rural Resilience and Opportunity on the High Plains (R20) initiative and the Access to Success West Texas AmeriCorps program. WT serves as the anchor institution for this new AmeriCorps program that partners with area high schools, community colleges, and workforce and economic development entities to better obtain post-secondary education and sustained living wage.

In other words, help graduating high school students take advantage of available opportunities to reach their goals, be it traditional four-year or two-year colleges, vocational schools or in the workforce.

“It’s about supporting and augmenting the existing system for students and adult learners and build sustainability for themselves and find a path that leads to that,” Rueda said. “Our mentors are building relationships and listening to them to help them figure out what it is they want to do and build some confidence and soft skills. It’s helping people maneuver through some sometimes overly complicated system to reach their goals.”

To that end, in September, WT was awarded a total of $1.4 million over three years from the OneStar Foundation, the governor-appointed state service commission for national service, as well as nearly $800,000 from the Greater Texas Foundation. The two grants fund the R20 and Access to Success program

Rueda offices in Old Main at WT, which is the facilitator of the two programs. The University may directly benefit with students in the program across the Texas Panhandle attending WT, but that is not the focus. The programs aren’t recruiting efforts for the University.

“It goes back to regional support and draws upon the long-term plan WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, and understanding our role as a higher educational institution in the region,” Rueda said. “It’s about reaching out and using our resources, especially in smaller communities, and connect with students. With WT 125, (university president) Dr. (Walter) Wendler does a fantastic job of being transparent of what our role is within the region.”

For Lerma, he may have found his calling — found it so much he’s working at Randall and Midway Alternative School while using portable oxygen. He was diagnosed with COVID in late October, spent several days in ICU and then a hospital room before he was allowed to leave.

After he lost his advertising job after five years at the Amarillo Globe-News in 2015, he returned to WT, a place he attended for 1 ½ years in the early 1990s. He earned a degree in general studies in 2017 with plans on earning a counseling degree.

While going to school, he got a job working on campus helping students in the English lab. The connection with others appealed to him. A year later in 2016, Rueda offered him a position in a peer-to-peer program she started. That developed into what he’s doing now, one of 24 mentors who cover the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle.

“I love this job,” he said. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had. I’m not getting rich – in fact, I make less than I did at my previous job – but when I get up in the morning, I’m ecstatic to go to work.”

Despite COVID restrictions, Lerma worked with Randall High School counselor Sasha Riley to meet with senior students all day two days a week. For 85 to 90 percent of students, their plans are college, vocational school or the military.

If it’s college, Lerma and other mentors will cover FAFSA – the confusing governmental red tape of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, mine the scholarship possibilities available which are greater than students believe, work on college applications, and any other paper blizzards that can confuse and frustrate.

“We do everything from connecting them with resources to guiding and working alongside counselors and administrators to help students find that post-secondary education path,” Rueda said. “We even partner with the GED for adult learners with coaching and tutoring and help them access the training they’re looking for.”

For the smaller percentage who wants to bypass further education or training to join the workforce, the AmeriCorps mentors will work with them through the Workforce Solutions Panhandle to get them a case manager to pursue a job.

At Midway, an alternative school in the Canyon ISD for at-risk students, Lerma’s work is a little different. There’s more workforce attention and also more tutoring. Lerma, proficient in English, works with a number of the 50 seniors at Midway on the Creative and Practical writing exam, a requirement for graduation.

“Some have to be pushed,” Lerma said. “There’s only so much a teacher can do. I’ve had a student tell me that she can get more done with me than the rest of the week because I’m sitting down with her and we’re working it together one-on-one.”

It’s not been easy for Lerma to return to his job since his illness with COVID.  He has no insurance, and could not afford the portable oxygen container. He also had some issues with blood clots in his lungs. He hopes the blood thinners have removed the clots, but can’t afford a follow-up visit to a doctor to be certain.

As for the portable oxygen container, Lerma has played drums in bands in Amarillo for more than 25 years. A friend with Like Red Giants, his current band, set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the container and blood thinners. In the meantime, Lerma works for Door Dash in the evenings to help with expenses.

“People like John have that desire to make a difference and help other people,” Rueda said. “I do not know what we’d do without people like John. A lot of people aren’t familiar with AmeriCorps. So much of this is about building relationships. John is just tremendous human being.”

Do you know of a student, faculty member, project, an alumnus or any other story idea for “WT: The Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle?” If so, email Jon Mark Beilue at jbeilue@wtamu.edu.