Immigrant Stories: Rocio Mosqueda
Immigrant Stories: Rocio Mosqueda
Rocio Mosqueda was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, but moved early on in her childhood to Queretaro, Mexico where she was raised for the most of her life. In Queretaro, the majority of Rocio’s family lives there. In 2016, Rocio’s family arrived in the United States after a planned visit to see her husband’s family. What was planned as a quick visit, turned into a permanent stay. Rocio didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye to her loved ones in Mexico before staying here permanently. After being here almost 7 years, Rocio and her family have settled into a good life here in Bryan, TX. She recalled her first experience arriving here to Bryan, stating it was “very pretty, very calm, and small”. Now, her daily routine involves making sure her kids are doing their best, and helping them in any way she can as well as taking care of her family. In her free time, she loves taking her 6 dogs out for walks on their land since there is a lot of space to roam around, as it borders the woods. When her family is home, they all go on beautiful afternoon walks to enjoy time together. One thing that’s never been part of Rocio’s daily routine is going shopping, as she has never found an interest in such things and instead has always appreciated the outdoors and nature. Something important to note is that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rocio’s husband had to go to Mexico for personal reasons. Her husband ended up stuck in Mexico due to COVID since the border was closed, and was unsure of what she would do here while he was gone. That is when Rocio’s husband’s family came together to help her and support her, something she is thankful for. In addition, when Rocio had the opportunity to do so, she worked hard to sell fresh cooked meals which helped her earn money for her family. Her perseverance, along with her husband’s family’s aid gave her strength during a difficult time, something many other families can relate to.
After being here for a while, Rocio’s husband chose to look up information online for English classes being offered around Bryan, Texas. That’s when they found out that BIIN offered free English classes for the local community. In September of 2022, Rocio and her husband registered, and began their English classes here at BIIN. Her first day was nerve wracking as she was not sure of what to expect, and when she arrived at class she realized the teacher only spoke English which added to her nerves. Now a few months later, Rocio has found her footing and feels confident in class. When she arrives, she is ready to learn, takes notes, practices out loud her pronunciation and actively participates every time she can. When it comes to the volunteers who join the classes, Rocio appreciates their aid in helping hone her pronunciation of certain words, and understand the why of certain grammatical structures in sentences. She appreciates and thanks the volunteers for their generosity, patience with the students and willingness to aid and come to classes to help. Rocio hopes to reach her goal to speak in English fluently since in Bryan, Texas it’s a necessity, the majority of the people speak English no matter where you go. Rocio has hopes for her children, both of her teenagers aged 12 and 14, go to college, and lead successful lives. However, Rocio hopes they follow their dreams and accomplish what they want to fulfill in their lives. As for what she hopes for BIIN, she hopes we can continue to expand, evolve, and find more ways to advertise our services to serve as many people as possible in Bryan, Texas.
