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The recipient of the Phil Witt Endowment Scholarship at KCKCC for 2009, Eva Ledesma (left) was joined (from left) by daughters Eliyzabth, 9; Karynn, 6: Eunicee, 11; and Nohemy, 13, and her husband, Efrain Morales, at the Mid-America Education Hall of Fame induction ceremonies where she delivered an emotional thank you for her scholarship. (KCKCC Photo by Alan Hoskins)

By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

Growing up in a small town in Mexico, Eva Ledesma not only was the first of a family of 10 to attend college but the first in her town. Attending college also meant sleeping on top of empty fruit boxes and walking four miles a day to attend classes.

Today, the 2009 recipient of the Phil Witt Endowment Scholarship is on pace to earn an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

“I always thought that everything is possible if you believe. Receiving this scholarship only proves that,” Ledesma told a crowd of nearly 230 at the 14th annual Mid-America Education Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at KCKCC Nov. 7. “My dream is to be an art therapist for young children and this scholarship will help me pursue my dreams. I plan on buying my first lap top computer to help me get a bachelor’s degree.”

Ledesma, who will receive her AA in May, currently does her research and other computer work in the College Library.

“But I get only 60 minutes and then have to wait so it’s hard,” said Ledesma, who plans to seek a bachelor’s degree in the Kansas City area.

The mother of four daughters, Ledesma already holds a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Morelia in Mexico earned after overcoming countless odds.

“We had no middle school in my town so I had to go to another town and then another town for high school,” she said.     “When I went to the university I had to walk two miles each way because I had no money to ride the bus and I slept on top of empty fruit boxes.”

Graduating in 1988, she taught science in high school for six months before coming to the United States. “My older brother was a citizen and I started going to school for English in Santa Ana, Calif.,” said Ledesma, who worked first as a housekeeper before getting more lucrative jobs in a camera factory and Child Care centers in Monterey County. She earned her U.S. citizenship in 1996.

Four years ago, Ledesma, her husband, Efrain Morales, and four daughters, Nohemy, 13; Eunicee, 11; Eliyzabeth, 9; and Karynn, 6, left California and came to Kansas City. “It was a much better place to raise our daughters,” she said.”The houses were cheaper here. We could not afford a house in California, also there was too much violence there.”

Ledesma, who had started taking Early Childhood classes in California, resumed her pursuit of a degree at KCKCC in 2007 and has one class to go for graduation in May.

“She just jumped right in. She shines in every class and is a real inspiration to her instructors and fellow students,” said Kris Hearn, the Coordinator of KCKCC’s Early Childhood program. “One of the assignments for her child nutrition class was to learn everything she could about a food and create a curriculum for children to learn about that food. She chose eggs and her research was so extensive that she filled a 3-inch binder and a 5 by 10-foot poster with facts about eggs, way above and beyond what was expected.”

Ledesma, who works in a Child Care Learning Center operated by Open Door Bible Church, has yet to decide where she’ll pursue a BA in Art Therapy for Children. “I love kids and like to do things in art with them. It is good therapy to do art.”

Last month, Ledesma lost her mother.

“She was a very strong person who encouraged me in so many ways,” says Ledesma, who returned to Mexico for the funeral. “It was very hard to go to school in Mexico but my mother was always encouraging. One time we had no money and I thought maybe I would stop college but my mother said she would sell popcorn on the street if she had to so that I would finish the university. She gave me energy.”