A little self-belief can go a long way. Jennifer Zamora
way
At least that’s the
sees it.
“One of our greatest battles is within our own minds. Try to change the way you think about yourself, you’re wrong if you think you’re not good enough.” Zamora, a recent Muscatine Community College graduate, knows a thing or two about getting back up when life knocks you down and facing barriers head-on, whether mental, physical, emotional or financial. Her determination to make the most of her life started as a young girl growing up in California. Her family relocated to Iowa for work when she was 11-years-old. “I was always different. I knew there were two paths, either be in trouble, because where I come from there are gangs and at the age of 12 they start recruiting you, or get an education and make it out of there,” Zamora said. Zamora chose the latter, proudly being the first in her family to graduate from high school. Not knowing what she wanted to do next, she enrolled in classes at MCC after a friend recommended the college. But before she could even celebrate her first day of college classes, her life took a dramatic turn. “The summer that I enrolled I lost my brother to suicide and my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer just months later,” Zamora said. 8 eicc.edu/tccmagazine 8 eicc.edu/tccmagazine
As her family faced tremendous heartache and loss, Zamora dropped out of college to help raise her younger brother and nephew.
