Martin Ramirez was a self-described “disruptive” young student. His coursework bored him and, because he lacked a challenge, he often got in trouble in class. Despite his behavior, his parents continued to instill in him the need to go to college.
His parents, both first-generation immigrants with no more than a secondary education, learned about a new program where high school students could earn an associate degree while in high school at no extra cost. The family of six had a modest income so Ramirez’s parents took him to a meeting and convinced him this was his ticket to college.
It was 2007, and to be a good son, Ramirez agreed to enroll at Mission Early College High School, which is part of the Socorro Independent School District. He wanted to save his parents, an insurance salesman father and a stay-at-home mother, some money…