Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Omar Reyes, a proud RIC alumni, who earned a Master’s degree in Youth Development Diversity and Policy in 2016, might make it look easy, but he did not get to be the new director of adult programs and policies at Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (OPC) overnight. 

It all started in 2007 when Reyes enrolled at CCRI to take some English literature courses. Two years later he transferred to Roger Williams University to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. While he was at Roger Williams University, he earned a full scholarship for helping to create and design a Latinx Literature course, a course that did not exist at the time.  

“I thought that college was not something for people like me,” says Reyes. “It was not an option or a choice. We were really poor. We had a lot of struggles with child hunger and I wasn't the best student.”

Reyes’s mother and father, both immigrants from the Dominican Republic who came to the United States three years before his birth, did not even finish high school, so for Reyes college was not on his mind. But a year after graduating from high school, his father took him to CCRI to take his placement test. “He was so excited for me to go to college. He even offered to buy me a suit to wear on my first day of class,” recalls Reyes. 

A couple of months later, one of life’s unpleasant surprises knocked Reyes’s door – his father passed away. “It was really tough but also gave me purpose, it gave me direction,” he recalls.

Now, years later at OPC, Reyes is in a position to help adults who finished high school or who have been through a GED program to get into college. His role at OPC is to help people make the transfer into higher education, connecting them to resources to help them at each of the institutions. Reyes also collaborates with community organizations like Dorcas International Institute, Progreso Latino and Genesis Center. 

“I am in charge of two major grants through the Walmart and Lumina Foundations, both designed to help adult students enroll in college,” he explains.

The Walmart grant trains hospitality and service sector workers, teaching them English, customer service skills, and how to manage the workplace equipment and just like the Lumina grant, helps participants get enrolled in higher education institutions. 

As a Hispanic, Reyes understands the enrollment challenges of his demographic. “It is very difficult for Hispanic students to enroll in higher education, specially people who just came here,” he acknowledges.  

“We are working on a communication plan and will be doing some radio ads in Spanish to encourage Hispanic adults to go back to school.”

Presently around 148,000 Hispanics live in Rhode Island. Which according to a 2015 report of the RI Department of Health, is a community with a 35.8 percent living in poverty and with a median household income of $29,859, almost 50% less than overall state median. 

“I learned that your experience creates an extra sense of purpose,” Reyes comments. “When you are at school, you are able to have that sense of responsibility to get that degree because your life and income depends on it.” 

Reyes mentions that there’s always a way to go to school. “In the state of Rhode Island, we are very lucky to have wonderful public institutions like CCRI, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island that are committed to helping Hispanic students, are affordable and are doing really transformative work in the state.” 

He emphasizes how grateful he feels for all the opportunities given by Rhode Island College, also for letting him get involved with the people from the community, which has really prepared him for the work that he does now.   

“Thank you, RIC. Without my experience there I wouldn't be where I am right now. I was able to work with the most amazing students, many of them Hispanic, which made me feel like I was looking in a mirror. Students who have the same problems and issues that Hispanics have throughout higher education and RIC really tries to solve those problems,” he says. 

Reyes’s advice for those high school students who want to go to college is to dream big. “Imagination is the most important step into doing anything that you need to do,” he says. “Look for heroes that look like you, who share similar backgrounds, because that gives you the idea that you can also accomplish your dreams.”

Reyes also says that it is important to use all of the hardships in life to your advantage, "we should use them to guide us and provide us insight, to fuel us and prepare us forward." He adds, "Be proud of your heritage, be proud of where you come from. Whether you’re poor or not have empathy and be a good citizen, understand other people and persevere for it," he adds. 

“I am a testament that education is such a transformative thing for your life and your future generations,” Reyes concludes. 

If you want to return to school to finish your degree, The Finish Strong initiative is designed to help former students complete their degree at RIC.