[cnn.com]

Living in rural, largely-Republican Eastern Washington, racism against black and brown-skinned people is endemic and cruel.

Since 2006, I have been a volunteer college mentor at Wenatchee High School. I help first-generation students write essays to apply for college and scholarships. With English as a second language, even brilliant students have trouble writing in English.

One of my best success stories is Brenda, who won $269,445 in scholarships in 2016. A senior at Wesleyan University, Brenda is studying to be a medical doctor and pathologist. She hopes to cure diseases.

"We won't play with you because your skin is brown," white girls told Brenda in kindergarten. "That really hurt," Brenda said.

"Are you Mexican?" a white boy asked Brenda in a high school advanced placement math class. "I'm surprised because you're really smart."

"You smell like tortillas," a white boy said loudly to Teresa in the hallway when they were in middle school. "Is that all you Mexicans eat?"

"Everyone laughed," Teresa said. "I thought they were my friends! They were my classmates. My face burst into flames. I ran to the restroom and cried."

I have repeatedly asked school board members to help stop racist bullying in local schools. "Teachers cannot patrol the hallways," they replied. A lousy excuse. Racist bullying continues.

Beacon of Hope

"I am a beacon of hope in my neighborhood," Teresa said in 2015. "My younger siblings and neighbor kids look up to me. I am inspiring them to stay in school, get good grades, not drop out, don't get pregnant or join gangs, and go to college."

Recently Teresa and her brother, both accountants, bought their parents their first house.

In 2018, I took young women I previously mentored on a hike at Icicle Gorge, WA. From left:

Tammy, a Vietnamese immigrant, is studying to be a neurosurgeon at Univ. of Washington.

Elizabet, the oldest child of Mexican immigrants, is in medical school to become a pediatrician.

Teresa, the oldest child of Mexican immigrants, is an accountant and Latino community program director. An enthusiastic public speaker, Teresa has been asked to run for public office.

These are remarkable young people. It thrills me to send them to college.