# @rhodeislandcollege on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiIUl5HE__
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/74942701-rhodeislandcollege-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f74a7d98e0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2019-06-10T14:52:51.000+00:00

## Caption

Meet our graduates: Everyone needs a #supportnetwork to get through #college. Cindy, Allen and Wanda Contreras have a unique one. “Being able to thrive with my sister and brother, through all of the setbacks we had to overcome, is the biggest achievement to me,” says Wanda, the eldest of the three #siblings to graduate from RIC this year.
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Wanda, 28, Cindy, 25, and Allen, 23, are #firstgeneration #Americans 🇺🇸born to #Guatemalan 🇬🇹parents, and they stuck together through immeasurable challenges. Allen, who was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, relied on his sisters to transport him to and from classes, run errands and take him to the gym for exercise to increase his upper body strength. He and Cindy both graduated with degrees in #justicestudies, and aspire to eventually attend #lawschool, so that they can use the law to empower others.
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Wanda originally intended to study pharmacy at a college in Maine, but an #accounting course changed her plans. She fell in love with it and transferred to RIC both because of the excellent accounting program and to be closer to her family. She now works as both an assistant business manager at communityprep School and a pharmacy tech at CVS.
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They’re all ready to take the next steps in their journeys, and they credit RIC for helping them get there. “Rhode Island College is not just a school,” says Wanda. “It’s a community. I’ll miss all the relationships I’ve formed here.”
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#RICnews #RICspirit #experienceRIC #RICcommencement #RICalumni #rhodeislandcollege #classof2019 #graduates #successstory #community #guatemalteco #guatemalteca #latinx #firstgenerationamerican #opportunity #support #disability #sisters #brothers #family

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- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 84
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- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

ricnews, firstgeneration, sisters, rhodeislandcollege, support, firstgenerationamerican, supportnetwork, disability, graduates, guatemalan, experienceric, ricalumni, guatemalteco, justicestudies, riccommencement, successstory, guatemalteca, siblings, latinx, americans, family, community, ricspirit, college, brothers, accounting, opportunity, lawschool, classof2019

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