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Kissimmee
- St Cloud |
TOPICS OF INTEREST UT student lives rags-to-riches By KRIS PORTO TAMPA – First from a birth defect, then from a wheelchair, then from communism, from poverty and finally from an abusive relationship, life has been one fight for freedom after another for Mercedes Lopez. The University of Tampa senior has won them all – and now has been accepted at 11 law schools, landing $90,000 in scholarships, following her graduation May 14 with a 3.77 GPA. Lopez, who has decided to attend Stetson Law School in St. Petersburg, was given $33,000 by the school and $57,000 from the Florida Education Fund, a scholarship for minority students. Named one of three outstanding seniors at UT, she also won an honorable mention in a magazine-sponsored contest for statewide College Student of the Year – a contest won by another UT senior, Jessica Kittin, 21, of Colorado. Lopez, 32 begins the story of her more unusual route to college by describing her severe birth defect from a genetically transmitted disease. A victim of neurofibremalosis also known as von Recklinghausen’s disease, she was born without feet. She spent her first nine years of life in a wheelchair in Cuba, undergoing 16 surgeries during which her feet were reconstructed. She came to the United States in 1980 after what she describes as an arduous journey. She, her brother and her mother left the Island of Costa Rica, where work permits were unavailable. With 34 other illegal refugees, they moved on to the Bahamas, then Bimini, and finally chartered a boat to Florida. Then they lost all their possessions in a storm. Granted American political asylum as Cuban refugees, they spent two weeks in a homeless shelter until a relative from Orlando picked them up. Lopez married in 1981 and had a son, Henry Rodriguez, in 1982. She divorced her husband seven years into what she describes as an abusive, rocky marriage, remarrying in 1991. Speaking no English, both Lopez and her mother, Alda Bennett, worked as housekeepers in Orlando. They each worked three jobs and eventually got a one-room apartment, unfurnished. Many of their clothes and furnishings came through the Salvation Army. “It was an extremely difficult time.” Lopez recalled. “Many times there was no food just bread and maybe sugar. There were many times that we didn’t have electricity. My mother was very proud and would not go on welfare.” Lopez taught herself English and got a job at Walt Disney World. The waitressing position wasn’t an easy one for her, considering the disease that still renders her weak. But education remained a high priority, as she had attended an honor school in Cuba and wanted to go to college. “We weren’t able to take official records out of Cuba, so Valencia Community College gave me a placement test,” she said. “I placed into the honors program.” Her current husband dropped his own schooling to work toward her education. Lopez attained her associate degree in 1 ½ years and transferred to the University of Tampa as a junior, majoring in criminology and political science. “Mercedes was always an excellent student who dreamed of going to a university,” said her mother. “There was no future for her in Cuba. We had to start over from nothing, and she has worked so hard. In everything she does, she always thinks of her family and has been a good daughter to me.” Lopez’s family now lives in Lakeland because it’s halfway between the private university and Walt Disney World, where her husband works and where she still holds down part-time hours waitressing at Disney-MGM Studios. For her son, Lopez is an inspiration. “I want to be just like my mom,” Henry said. “She is winning so many awards and went to Tallahassee for the Florida Leader award. She got an honorable mention, but I am very proud of her.” Henry works toward accomplishments of his own, though he’s only in sixth grade. He was tops in his grade at a Polk County chess tournament and won three of five matches at the state finals. Lopez spent last summer in Washington with an internship as a legislative assistant to Xavier Becerra, a congressman from Los Angeles. She called it a “fascinating experience,” despite the difficult of leaving her husband and son for three months. She didn’t put an end to hard work once she returned to UT. “Fired up,” she said, she founded the Organization of Future Lawyers, a club that now boasts 50 members. “There was a real need for that kind of club,” said Pam Bracken, director of student activities at the school. “We’ve always had lots of pre-law students at the university, and the club provides them with the chance to have debates and speakers and other programs.” Becoming an American citizen in September was another milestone in Lopez’s life. “I am grateful to this country and this state,” she said. “Contrary to Cuba, you an make your own way in this world. I am a citizen now, and a registered Democrat. I want to be active in the community and in the country’s political systems.” "López also is a member of the Student Political Organization, student coordinator of People Experience Active Community Experiences or PEACE, and a former secretary and vice president of student government. She also wrote columns for The Minaret, UT's newspaper. "She is a good role model student at UT," Bracken said. "She has made agencies aware of UT and brought outside interest in. She is a community builder." Community services is a big part of López's focus. "I believe in helping others as I was
helped," she said. "It isn't just Mercedes making it. It is my family, the
university, the students and faculty. My awards are a tribute to all the
people who have faith in me." |
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