Mayela Anacleto’s mother left Managua, Nicaragua, in the late 1980s, fleeing decades of escalating violence and inevitable revolution.

At a time when neither the United States nor its northern neighbor offered political asylum to Central American refugees, Saira Torres, then 35, embarked on the perilous journey to Toronto, Canada, with nothing more than determination to make a better life for her children.

“My mother had to fight for herself and for all of us,” Anacletosaid. “And she taught us that if we had an education, no one could ever take it from us.”

Anacleto, now 34, is preparing to take another, albeit shorter, journey as she crosses the stage Saturday at commencement with more than 300 Texas A&M University-Central Texas graduates.

The road toward the degree, however, wasn’t always an easy one.

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