LA SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA COMO SOCIEDAD MERCANTIL

Undoubtedly, this conversation about Puerto Rican persistence cannot exist without discussing the role and the impact of family. The family has been, and continues to be, a prominent influence in the Latina literature; this study has further underscored this phenomenon. Every single participant in this study significantly referenced the role their families played in their roads to attaining their PhD degrees. The most notable family members mentioned were parents, spouses, and children.

Marcela spoke extensively about the impact her father had on her in terms of her intellectual development.

Yo me crie viendo a mi padre leyendo, viendo a mi padre escribiendo…entonces yo desarrolle ese gusto por la lectura, eso gusto por las historias, los cuentos…y mi padre siempre toda la vida, nos decía una y otra vez, ustedes tienen que estudiar, ustedes tienen que estudiar. I grew up watching my father read, watching my father write…so I developed a liking for literature, a liking for history, stories…and my father always, all of his life, he’d say to us, time and time again, you have to study, you have to study.

She felt that her mother was supportive as well, but deemed her father as mostly responsible for her esteemed outlook on education. Marcela was one of two participants to highlight her father as the primary motivator of the two parents.

Maria was the other participant who highlighted her father regarding her persistence in her doctoral program. She explained how he constantly expressed his pride in her accomplishments. He also provided support through that process, especially with regard to emotional support, allowing her to complain to him on various occasions. She

did not specifically mention her mother, aside from where she was born and the fact that she was a homemaker.

Most participants mainly focused on their mothers as prominent figures. In Sage’s case, the fact that her mother instilled the seed very early on prompted her to college and be successful. She highlighted, “My mom always told me, ‘Sage is college-bound.’” Milagros highlighted her mother’s support and pride, regardless of her lack of understanding of the doctoral process:

My mom is like well this is good, you are in school, she doesn’t really understand it really, but you know they are proud of you. “Oh yea, she is going to be a professor,” that is what she knows.

Christina and Gabriela went into greater detail regarding the role of their mothers in their doctoral process. When asked what made her consider obtaining the PhD, Christina stated,

I strongly believe that what drove me to my PhD was the fact that my parents, specifically my mother, never questioned I couldn’t obtain the highest degree. She would always instill a very common Puerto Rican saying, which is whatever it is you want to be, just be the best in it, and reach the highest that you can.

When asked what caused her to persist to completion, she instantaneously referred to family, mainly her parents:

I did it for all my family members, specifically my mom and dad, which I think would have been amazing scholars and didn’t have the opportunity, because life did not provide mechanism for access.

Christina further stated that for every day, every year of her doctoral program, she would call her mother at 4:00 AM before she started on her writing.

On the other hand, Gabriela had moved back in with her mother, who provided child care for Gabriela while she pursued her various degrees full-time:

My mom was always there to support me…It’s funny ‘cause when you think of support, she never helped me with my homework. Very early on, I was beyond her, and she couldn’t support me in that sense, but the love was always there, and when I started having my kids, she was always there to help me with the kids.

Growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn was tough. It was not safe to be in the streets, so Gabriela grew up reading books. She stated, “My life was reading, reading, reading all the time. My mom really pushed the academics. She was really proud of me.” Gabriela concluded that her mother gave her self-confidence and instilled the notion that succeeding is not possible if one does not believe in himself or herself.

Fania discussed at great lengths the significance of her parents’ involvement with her persistence through her doctoral program. Fania was the only participant to provide a case of both parents engaging equally in a tag-team effort to help her to achieve the PhD. Fania and her parents worked out an agreement where she knew she could dedicate three full days a week to writing her dissertation—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She asked her parents if they would turn her old bedroom into an office where she could come to write on those days. She would spend the night at their home on her writing days, as her parents were determined to contribute to her progress in whatever way they could. Fania explained,

My parents said, well, how can we help you with your writing…so my father would make me coffee every morning. I would wake up every morning at 6 AM to do a walk and every morning his contribution was that he would make me my coffee and my mother would be in charge of

my lunch break….so she bought this bell…in the shape of a long pencil…she would ring it to represent [a] writing break. We would eat for an hour and talk and that was my social break…and I did that for like a year and a half.

Fania stated, “My parents felt really good about contributing that way, ‘cause they knew that was something they could do.” They would often express words of encouragement when she felt defeated. She recalled, “I remember my parents telling me, ‘We don’t know what you’re doing, but we know you can do it, and we know you can finish, ‘cause you finish everything.’” Her mother also contributed by checking translations of some transcriptions Fania had completed in Spanish. Clearly, she attributes much of her success to her parents, stating, “I really thought I wasn’t going to continue at [one] point, but my parents helped me persist.” In the end, Fania’s parents threw her a graduation party and to this day remind her that she has surpassed their expectations.

In addition to parental support, the desire to provide for and set an example for their children was another element in the persistence of these Puerto Rican women in their doctoral programs. Marcela and Christina, each the mother of two sons, exclusively referred to wanting to set an example for their sons. Marcela explained, “[Quise] darle un ejemplo para mis hijos…de que ellos vieran que hay que tener determinación en la vida; I wanted to set an example for my sons…so they could see that you have to be determined in life.” Christina echoed Marcela in her desire, “My motivation were my boys. I needed to show them that life is what you do. You can always stand up, get the dirt off your knees and keep going.”

Gabriela has four daughters and no sons, but she also shares the same wish for her children:

I have four girls, so I’m thinking, the further along I get, the more likely it is that they will get, match me, and surpass; and for generations after…you move your whole family forward.

One of Gabriela’s daughters was present at her defense. Gabriela wanted her daughter to see the process, hoping that she will also earn a PhD in the future.

Sage, Maria, and Fania attested to the importance of having a supportive spouse while completing a doctoral program, especially during the dissertation writing process. Sage stated, “I had a great relationship with my husband.” She further elaborated that her husband was very independent and did not rely on her to help as much around the house while she was writing. She recounted that the dinner menu had become pizza and peanut butter and jelly, but that he was okay with this change.

Maria had to consult with her husband about finances. She had become aware of a dissertation writing institute that was rather expensive, so she sought his opinion on participating:

My husband is very supportive, has always been very supportive. I had to pay fifteen, sixteen hundred dollars to go for seven days…and when it feels like an investment, he is like, ‘if it saves you time, if it gives you peace of mind, if it allows you to feel supported, then go for it.’

Fania was living with her partner at the time. Although they shared the expenses equally, work became a burden when the time came to write the dissertation. Her partner decided to step in:

I needed to crunch down on the writing, he was like, look, let’s not have you work. Let’s have you do this writing fellowship and you contribute in whatever way you can but I will take on most of the bills to see us through, because we need you to finish.

The facts that her partner had already earned his PhD and had made such deliberate sacrifices for her to finish were key reasons why Fania was able to persist in her program. Marcela and Milagros summed up the notion of ‘doing it for the family’ and ‘serving as a role model for the family,’ which is a substantial component of all of the participants’ reasons for persistence. In Marcela’s words:

Yo creo el servir también de modelo en la familia pues yo creo que también es algo lindo que te llevas. A también ser pobre como ellos. Y de que mira a como he llegado y mira lo que he logrado.

I think that to serve as a role model for the family, well, I think, that is also something beautiful that you take with you. To also be poor like them and that look where I got and look what I have achieved.

Milagros admitted to her persistence being brought on by a perceived duty. When asked what kept her going, she explained, “I think part of it has been family and friends, and this sense of obligation to them. I would hear my nephew, ‘Oh titi, I heard mom say you are going to be a doctor.’” Milagros concluded, “You get the degree, but it’s not just you who you are doing this for.”

The successes of these women stand for much more than personal gratification. Theirs successes are monumental and have the capacity to break barriers and impact future generations. Consequently, those who inspire and motivate us are those for whom

we fight. The participants in this study were clearly cognizant of the large-scale impact of their successes; their enthusiasm to participate in this study suggests this awareness.