Ginger Alvarez’s “Suitcase Full of Dreams”

Ginger Alvarez is a mother of four determined to finally fulfill her career dreams, which she began pursuing in Guayaquil, Ecuador before moving to the United States in 2011. When she arrived, the possibilities she had access to were more limited in scope than she had imagined—with a family to maintain, she had to chart a new course that took her far from her aspirations to work in the aviation industry, until now.

Alvarez’s eldest son, who works in higher education in Manhattan, heard about Empire State University’s Spanish Bachelor of Business Administration—an opportunity that would allow his mother to earn a degree in her native language and advance her career while she continued developing her English-language skills. Alvarez enrolled, seeing a gateway back into her desired field that played to her strengths.

She is one of many whose academic and career progress has been slowed by language barriers, which is why SUNY Empire launched its business administration degree intended for native Spanish speakers. Already, the university specializes in serving diverse student populations with competing responsibilities in their personal and professional lives. For busy parents like Alvarez, the flexibility of online learning is essential to academic success and accessing new career possibilities.

Today, she lives in Queens and works as a cashier at a money transfer business while doing e-commerce, but Alvarez’s story began with “humidity and heat” in Ecuador’s largest coastal city. In 2000, when she began college, Alvarez declared a business administration major while simultaneously pursuing pilot training with the support of her parents. “At that time, my mom got cancer. They couldn’t continue paying for the programs, so I had to leave. Instead, I started working at the airport for Avianca Airlines,” she recounts. Alvarez held her job for almost eight years until her paperwork to relocate to the U.S. was finalized by which time she had two children, ages five and seven.

“I arrived in this country with a suitcase full of dreams. I thought I would keep doing airport work, but the language is very different, and it holds you back,” she says. Despite her years of experience in a different industry, Alvarez began working at a money transfer company, and eventually at restaurants. “It was the first time I’d ever worked in one, but here, you have to do everything. I liked the dining industry, and I’ve kept working in it,” she adds. Alvarez was aware that language was impeding her from obtaining jobs she was otherwise trained to do, and set out to change that.

In 2018, Alvarez earned her GED, which she pursued as a pathway to improving her English-language skills. She enrolled in LaGuardia Community College to continue learning the language under the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP), “so that from there, I could move on to the degree I wanted: a business administration degree,” she explains. “It felt endless,” the 43-year-old comments regarding her journey to English fluency.

It was at this point, discouraged and facing the financial pressure that came with enrolling in CLIP, that Alvarez’s son turned her attention towards the Spanish BBA at SUNY Empire. “I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle it. At my age, you have so much in your head. But I took a chance,” she shares.

Online learning has been an adjustment for Alvarez, but it’s one she is navigating with the support of attentive faculty members. “I like how they run the courses, how they care. Professors will tell you, ‘If you can’t reach me through email, here is my phone number.’ They’re always present,” she says.

Besides the resources at the cohort’s disposal, Alvarez enjoys the way each subject connects with the next: “I like e-commerce, which is what Professor Claudia Lovegrove is teaching right now, and it connects with what Professor Luis Camacho teaches us, which is ethics.” The ability to think through course material in Spanish has been a great benefit—“It’s my language, so I can develop ideas faster,” she points out.

Now in her second semester of the program, Alvarez often feels motivated by her assignments, like creating a mockup of the footwear business she would run. Her professors’ what-if scenarios are engaging— “they really make you think,” she laughs, noting that she appreciates the challenge. With growing business acumen, Alvarez is starting to let herself imagine what possibilities the Spanish BBA degree might unlock. “I’m happy because I’m moving forward,” she says.

To Alvarez, the late nights poring over homework assignments after work are worth it—her dreams are becoming tangible, whether she makes her footwear business a reality, or applies her skills in the aviation industry. “This university understands who we are, our purpose to move forward. That’s why they give us flexibility,” she says, adding, “I’m confident that at some point I’m going to reach my goal.”