It's never too early to start thinking about the future. That's what Dallas ISD sixth grade teacher Martha Mouret believes.
"You can go to any university, any college," Mouret said. "The only thing that you have to have is your mind set to do that."
Mouret moved to Texas about 20-years ago from Mexico City.
"I was kidnapped when I was in Mexico, and when I moved, my parents didn't want me to be over there," Mouret said. "I knew it was a big opportunity to go to another country."
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Mouret didn't know English when she arrived in Lubbock. She learned it and graduated from Texas Tech. Now Mouret tells her students at Jose 'Joe' May Elementary in Northwest Dallas, if she can do it, they can do it.
"I think I get so passionate about this is because students, they are sometimes thinking they cannot make it. They are not represented," Mouret said.
That's why she started doing 'College Fridays' for her sixth grade students, showing them virtual tours of campuses, and letting them know what the opportunities are.
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"They're like, 'Oh, that student looked like me. Oh, I can actually go there!'," Mouret said. "To me, the key is just believe in yourself, and focus, and continue making good grades, because we are a generation and we have to change those numbers. We have to change how Hispanics get there."
That's why part of Mouret's teaching goes into the home, talking to parents to help them navigate the education system.
"I think it's important for them to have those tools and help their students," Mouret said. "Because it's not an easy way. I know for a fact! So you need some people to believe in you, and I believe in you."
