Ruben y Clara
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Originally from Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico, Clara, 37, and Ruben, 38, are a couple full of dreams and a whole lot of drive. Clara is organized and business-minded, and her initial matter-of-fact demeanor belies the exceedingly warm individual that emerges soon after meeting. Ruben seems shy at first, but it quickly becomes clear that the wheels in his mind turn a million miles a minute—his laugh is infectious, and you’d never guess from the way he waxes poetic that he has such a proclivity for math.
Both longtime, active members of the Centro Hispano family, Clara and Ruben have each taken the initiative to complete numerous programs and are frequent volunteers. Having worked in the events industry for over 12 years, they opened their own business, Osmar’s Event Center, in Knoxville five years ago.
Ruben and Clara first met when visiting family living in the U.S. almost 20 years ago. Both from middle class families, they each had graduated high school in Mexico with technical program diplomas, Clara in administrative data processing and Ruben in physical mathematical sciences. Clara originally had planned to continue her studies at university in Mexico. However, it became clear to them that the opportunities they sought for themselves and their future family were more readily available in the U.S. Like so many immigrants, they moved to pursue the American Dream.
But many of their personal dreams took a back seat to the realities of building their lives in a new country, learning a new language and, later, raising children. In fact, it was those realities that first led them to Centro. Clara first discovered Centro after looking for ways to perfect her English. She began taking ESL and pronunciation classes, and Ruben soon joined her.
When Centro announced the launch of its HiSET prep program in October 2019, it was perfect timing for the couple. Now well into successfully owning and operating a thriving, community-focused business, they were both eager to accomplish more—for themselves and for their two boys. After years of hard work, it was finally time for them to make some of their old dreams come true. In their case, and despite already having graduated high school in Mexico, the first step in doing so meant earning their high school equivalency diplomas in the U.S.
More than just another way to get ahead, for Clara and Ruben, participating in the HiSET prep program and pursuing their diplomas was also their way of setting a positive example for their 6-year-old and 15-year-old sons. Ruben recounted something his mother used to say: “You can’t demand something of your children if you don’t do it yourself.”
Despite a tumultuous transition to virtual instruction and testing, and countless hours of troubleshooting new systems due COVID, Clara and Ruben are well on their way to achieving what they sought out to do. After passing all of her remaining exams, Clara recently earned her diploma to become the second graduate of Centro’s new HiSET program. After completing the rest of his testing, Ruben will soon follow suit.
They are both excited to complete the first step towards reaching a new level of success in their lives and accessing new opportunities for their business and family.