Submitted Photo Ruth Mendez has graduated from Jamestown Community College and the State University at Buffalo.

Ruth Mendez came to Dunkirk from Puerto Rico in 2014 for an opportunity. An chance for more pay, to see her family, and to grow — both in her career and as part of her life.

One big obstacle in Mendez’s way is that her English was, in her words, not very good.

Upon arrival in the States, Mendez focused on learning the phrases she needed to know, meaning she could ask where a bathroom was or say she was hungry, but beyond that, her Google Translate became her best friend when trying to communicate.

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2But learning the language was key for Mendez, and the career path she had for herself.

Mendez, a nurse, chose Dunkirk as she had family residing here, and started working at Brooks Hospital in 2017, after working at a factory job and at The Chautauqua Center. Mendez said her English was getting better, as she was able to pick up the language because of Google Translate, music, English classes that were held on Main Street in Fredonia, and even reading the dictionary. Mendez also said she would write down words and phrases that were new to her, so she could look them up later.

“Phrases like ‘whatever floats your boat,’ “ said Mendez, “I would Google those and then add it to my vocabulary.”

Her job at Brooks Hospital also helped her learn the language, as she had to interact with her patients at the hospital. And around the time she started at Brooks, she also started going to Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County in Fredonia. Eventually, the tutors at Literacy Volunteers had her confident enough to go back to college, and Mendez started attending classes at Jamestown Community College.

“They were like the motivation for me,” she said. “They supported me through all my ways since I started at JCC.”

When Mendez started at Literacy Volunteers, she asked for honesty from her tutor about whether she had a future in English. Her tutor gave her the confirmation she needed to continue.

“I wanted to hear her opinion,” Mendez said. “I started reading the history of the U.S., and all of this other stuff that she gave me.”

Mendez knows her English still isn’t perfect, as she said she still struggles with the past tense of words and other phrases, but she’s come far enough along to graduate from JCC, and recently, the University of Buffalo as well, where she graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice, which she called one of her other passions. While attending UB, she was actually required to take a third language course, and started to learn Italian, which she said was a little easier for her to pick up than English.

Mendez came to the United States at nearly 30 years old, and wasn’t confident in her ability to read or write English. Now, she has graduated from two colleges, and is successfully continue her nursing career, though she has recently accepted a new job, and is now working at the Chautauqua County coroner’s office. Mendez, now 36, is able to thrive in her career, and as a single mother, it means that much more. Mendez put in a lot of hard work herself, but for anyone struggling with a similar situation to what she went through, she speaks highly of the people at Literacy Volunteers.

“When I worked at the hospital, the Spanish-speaking patients always asked where I learned English,” said Mendez. “And I always refer them to Literacy Volunteers. They have a system for every necessity. I think it’s a good program for the community.”