From the Pueblo to College: The Journey of Two Rural Students, Chapter 2: ‘I’m going to miss her’

For students who choose to go to college, where they come from can be a big predictor of their ability to succeed in higher education. Rural students don’t go to college in the same numbers that their urban or suburban peers do. And for rural students of color whose families or communities are of limited means, the numbers are even lower. But there are many success stories—and Education Week wanted to tell one.

For several months in 2019, Education Week followed two college-bound students—Temeya Gachupin and Justin Madalena—who come from the Pueblo of Jemez in New Mexico, so that we could tell their personal and academic stories.

Filming inside the Pueblo of Jemez is forbidden by outsiders. By special permission Education Week was granted limited access to the community, its schools, and the homes of the two families.