Coming from a life of using the canal as a swimming pool with parents doing migrant work, struggling to make ends meet, Graciela Alvarez Bradwell turned her life completely around, going through multiple fields of work such as, cosmetology, teaching, music, and, finally, business. Through hard work and a burning desire to succeed, Mrs. Bradwell enabled herself to become the successful woman she so desperately wished to become throughout her lifetime.
Approximately forty miles from the border of Mexico, in Harlingen, TX, on August 7th, 1963, Graciela Alvarez was born to parents Jose and Leonila Alvarez. Leonila Alvarez, Graciela’s mother, was a Mexican immigrant who was only ever able to achieve a third grade education while Graciela’s father, a native Texan, was educated to a ninth grade level. As the fifth of six children, Mrs. Bradwell has always had strong family values which helped to form her unconditional love for children.
During her school life, Mrs. Bradwell was very active in extracurricular activities from the eighth grade until she graduated from Harlingen High School in 1986. Throughout all her high school years, Mrs. Bradwell was involved in the varsity choir program. In the eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades, she was a baton twirler and learned how to twirl purely by watching, as …show more content…
Bradwell finally has her dream right within the grasp of her finger tips. Because the population in the area that Valley Haven covers is primarily Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican, it not only benefits society, but a national minority as well. “My goal has always been to help people. Growing up without many privileges made me want to become successful. Every time I would go swimming in the canal with my siblings, the water was so dirty, you could not see what was on the bottom. It made me dream of one day, having my own swimming pool, with a big, beautiful house. But, most importantly, I wanted to improve the lives of others. I wanted to help people in need.”
Approximately forty miles from the border of Mexico, in Harlingen, TX, on August 7th, 1963, Graciela Alvarez was born to parents Jose and Leonila Alvarez. Leonila Alvarez, Graciela’s mother, was a Mexican immigrant who was only ever able to achieve a third grade education while Graciela’s father, a native Texan, was educated to a ninth grade level. As the fifth of six children, Mrs. Bradwell has always had strong family values which helped to form her unconditional love for children.
During her school life, Mrs. Bradwell was very active in extracurricular activities from the eighth grade until she graduated from Harlingen High School in 1986. Throughout all her high school years, Mrs. Bradwell was involved in the varsity choir program. In the eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades, she was a baton twirler and learned how to twirl purely by watching, as …show more content…
Bradwell finally has her dream right within the grasp of her finger tips. Because the population in the area that Valley Haven covers is primarily Hispanic, Latino, or Mexican, it not only benefits society, but a national minority as well. “My goal has always been to help people. Growing up without many privileges made me want to become successful. Every time I would go swimming in the canal with my siblings, the water was so dirty, you could not see what was on the bottom. It made me dream of one day, having my own swimming pool, with a big, beautiful house. But, most importantly, I wanted to improve the lives of others. I wanted to help people in need.”