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North Salem senior wins laptop to help on her quest for higher education

Myrka Morales Romero poses with mentor Amanda Stubblefield Jan. 31, 2020 in the North Salem High School library after winning a Chromebook from Google and Best Buy (Courtesy/Amanda Stubblefield)

When Myrka Morales Romero was called to the North Salem High School library in the middle of class, she assumed she was in trouble.

She felt “nervous and confused” as she walked to what she’d been told was a meeting with an administrator.

Instead, the bubbly, energetic 18-year-old learned she’d won a free computer from Best Buy and Google as part of a program to reward outstanding students. Her teachers and friends were gathered to applaud her at a presentation last week.

“It’s amazing,” Romero said.

Romero is in her second year at North after moving to Salem from her hometown in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. She’d nearly completed high school but wanted to further her education, expanding beyond the small, insular town in southern Mexico where she grew up.

Her older sister, who’s 20, already lived in Salem, so Romero joined her, enrolling as a high school senior who spoke no English beyond a few colors and numbers she’d learned as a kid.

From there, teachers and school staff say she’s excelled, making honor roll every semester and often staying at North well into the evening to finish homework.

“She has so much passion,” said Amanda Stubblefield, a student mentor who works with Romero daily. “She’s amazing at pushing herself.”

Romero nearly completed high school in Mexico, so at North, she’s only missing required English courses to graduate.

She’s now in her second year as a senior, on track to earn a diploma come June by taking four English classes this semester. It’s a mix of courses to help her learn English and regular high school classes where she reads and analyzes English literature alongside native speakers.

“She’ll do whatever it takes to graduate,” Stubblefield said.

Romero insisted on being interviewed for this article in English despite being more comfortable speaking Spanish, pushing herself to recall phrases or asking for translations when she was unsure.

Senior Mryka Morales Romero learns she’s won a free laptop from Google and Best Buy in the North Salem High School library on Jan. 31, 2020 (Courtesy/Amanda Stubblefield)

Until November, she worked nearly full-time at El Ranchero Market, helping pay rent on the room she and her sister share in a house with strangers. She quit because she didn’t want the long hours and sometimes late nights interfering with school, she said.

Stubblefield said Romero has also taken extra English courses at night at Chemeketa Community College, bussing over after her high school work is done.

She enjoys reading. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is her favorite author in Spanish, and she’s growing to like young adult literature in English too.

She’s also president of North’s Spanish Honor Society. Members help mentor younger students and help with Spanish homework. Romero has also begun teaching Stubblefield some Spanish, and the two practice their second languages in conversations together.

Asked what she does for fun, Romero said she doesn’t have much free time, but it doesn’t seem to bother her.

“I think the school is fun!” she said, her eyes wide with excitement even at 8 a.m. “I love this.”

She described her hometown in Oaxaca as insular and sometimes close-minded. There, everyone is Catholic and there’s little diversity of ethnicity, religion or ideas, she said. Higher education, especially for women, isn’t emphasized.

The contrast is what she most enjoys about Salem.

“It’s amazing, the different cultures,” she said. Her only complaint: American food, even Mexican-American cuisine here, is too sweet.

After high school, she plans to go on to college and is interested in studying neuroscience.

Her parents weren’t supportive of her leaving her small town to study in the U.S., she said, fearing she’d get into drugs or crime. They’re still not thrilled, she said, but they’ve accepted it and stay in touch with her.

Before winning the Chromebook, Romero said she’ll often stay at North until 6 p.m. or later finishing homework after school. Now, she’s able to do that work at home, which will be much easier.

She told her mother about the computer on the phone recently.

“She said, ‘Why?’ I said, “Because I am an excellent student!’” Romero said, grinning.

Reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.