The purpose of this paper is to describe the educational experiences of a Mexican woman in Chicago's Little Village community in the 1980s. The author was born in Mexico and raised in Little Village which has been home to Mexican immigrant communities for decades. Little Village is also home to the largest Mexican-American population in the Midwest. The population is also fairly young which means that social issues such as, gangs and violence are prevalent. Rivera attended Chicago Public schools for her formative schooling and graduated from a Catholic High school. This short piece documents her trajectory into higher education, her desire to learn more about her own history and identity by studying abroad as well as being successful in a doctoral program by finding adequate support through mentors and other resources.