Angela Sanchez overcomes high school challenges to soar at UW-Stout

2014 May 12

If Angela Sanchez could have given an acceptance speech Saturday for the biggest award of her life -- a college diploma from UW-Stout -- she would have had a lot of people to thank.

First might be her parents, restaurant owners from Beloit who supported her dream of going to college. Her father emigrated from Mexico as a teenager and has worked long hours ever since to make the American dream possible for his daughter.

Next, Sanchez would thank a high school teacher, Anthony "Mr. C." Capozziello, who cared enough to make sure she returned to school after dropping out as a junior after suffering from anxiety and depression. Capozziello, a UW-Stout alumnus, encouraged her to apply at UW-Stout because of its hotel, restaurant and tourism program.

Sanchez also would thank her support network at UW-Stout. The advisers from Multicultural Student Services became her "Mr. C." on campus. She also made many close friends in the campus club Latinos Unidos.

Finally, Sanchez would thank her UW-Stout professors, who she said "actually care about" students and their careers. "The professors are amazing."

In the end, though, the plaudits belong to Sanchez. She overcame much to earn her Bachelor of Science degree. She wore a bright smile with her cap and gown Saturday while her parents, two sisters and one set of grandparents watched in Johnson Fieldhouse.

"I'm very, very proud of myself," she said. "I started at the bottom and I can say I'm a college graduate.

"My light at the end of the tunnel is going to be the flash that comes from the camera when the photographer takes my picture after I cross the stage May 10," she said.

Hitting bottom

The bottom came during her third year at Beloit Memorial High School. The first two years, she didn't take school seriously. Then, junior year, she decided to study hard, only to be overcome that spring with severe anxiety, panic attacks, a bout with depression and migraine headaches. She was working about 25 hours a week at the family restaurant while going to school.

"I stopped laughing, and I stopped smiling. Most days I didn't even come out of my room. The girl who everyone would look to for a smile and a laugh was gone," she said.

A turning point came when her father took her on a relaxing, two-week trip to the state of Durango, Mexico, to see family. Her health issues eventually eased, and by senior year she was back in school, back on track to graduate and looking at colleges.

Sanchez's parents own Salvador's American-Mexican restaurant in Beloit, and she worked there while growing up, with the intent of going into the restaurant business. She wasn't aware of UW-Stout or its hotel, restaurant and tourism program until Capozziello told her. "You need to look into UW-Stout," she recalls him telling her.

"He had me apply for UW-Stout right in his classroom. He wouldn't let me out of class until I did it," she recalls, adding that he also helped her with financial aid information. "When I was accepted I think Mr. C. was more excited than I was."

Bouncing back

Ever since hitting bottom, Sanchez has been rising, especially since coming to UW-Stout. She fell in love right away with the campus, saw that her major was going to take her places in the restaurant world and began to make friends.

With her easy smile and outgoing personality, Sanchez worked as a multicultural student ambassador for the Admissions Office, was a participant in and then mentor for the Stoutward Bound summer bridge program for incoming at-risk students and became president of Latinos Unidos.

For her high level of campus involvement, Sanchez was one of 16 students to receive the university's Samuel E. Wood Medallion during a ceremony Wednesday, May 7. It's the highest nonacademic award a student can receive at UW-Stout.

Sanchez's life is still on the rise. She already has landed a job. After interviewing at Wilderness Resorts in Wisconsin Dells, she was offered a job as manager of a new casual restaurant, Klondike Boardwalk, next to one of the resort's water parks. "I'm very excited but a little nervous," she said.

One of her School of Hospitality Leaders instructors, Lecturer Pamela Vaver, is confident Sanchez will do well. "Her work ethic and personality combined will only lead her to success. In the hospitality industry she will do an outstanding job," Vaver said. "She is an amazing student and individual. She has such an infectious personality that you can't help but be drawn to her."

Sanchez not only is proud of what she has accomplished, but she hopes to help others see that first-generation, multicultural students from blue-collar backgrounds can succeed. She already has given inspirational talks, in Spanish, at her high school and other high schools in Wisconsin to students with similar backgrounds.

"I never understood why Mr. C tried to so hard with me, but now I do. Mr. C knew I was worth something more than just falling into the trap that most Mexican girls fall into at my age at home: staying home, having babies young and not really going anywhere else. I see what Mr. C saw and I understand it. I finally understand that I am worth it," she said.

"I feel like I can be a role model for people," she said. "I am a strong Mexican woman who is ready to take on all the challenges that lie ahead of her."

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