Overcoming adversity: Cuban immigrant earns $12,000 scholarship after graduating from Cape Central

Cape Central High School 2024 graduate Elisama Isalgue-Sanchez is an example of what it means to live the American dream.

Isalgue-Sanchez moved to the United States from Cuba with her family in 2022, seeking asylum from the Cuban government’s authoritarian regime. Overcoming several barriers, such as the inability to speak English when she first arrived, Isalgue-Sanchez graduated from Cape Central with a 3.8 grade point average. She was recently rewarded for her efforts with a renewable scholarship worth $12,000 per year that she will use to attend Southeast Missouri State University.

“It's like a dream that comes true,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “If I didn't get this scholarship, I wouldn't be able to go to college, so this means a lot to me. I'm really happy and excited and thankful for this opportunity.”

The rootEd Undergraduate Scholarship, donated by the rootEd Alliance and distributed by the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, is a need-based scholarship available only to graduates of eligible high schools in Missouri and Idaho.

Because of her current citizenship status in the U.S., Isalgue-Sanchez was ineligible to receive federal aid and had to rely on scholarships to continue her education. With the help of Nancy Strothmann, rootEd college and career adviser at Cape Central, Isalgue-Sanchez was able to navigate the application process more easily.

“I just stayed on her about, ‘Make sure you check your email, make sure you check your email,’” Strothmann said. “She called me when she got the email last week and she and her mom and everybody were crying. I started crying because I know she is going to make it very far in life. She's a hard worker and she needed this opportunity so that she can follow her dreams of getting an education.”

Strothmann’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in 1980 and she was born as an American citizen in 1981, which helped create a special connection between her and Isalgue-Sanchez.

“My background is in social work and counseling, so I have always had that drive to help others,” said Strothmann, who Isalgue-Sanchez refers to as her mom at school. “People helped us along the way, and I wouldn't be where I'm at today without the help of others. We always joke around here that I cannot stay in my lane because I'm always going out of my lane just to help kiddos.

“I'm just so passionate about anybody who has a barrier, especially our kids that are coming over here from other countries and they don't speak any English. I just want to be that friendly face and that cheerleader that (tells them) they can do it and provide that support even though it's not part of my job.”

Growing up in Cuba was difficult at times for Isalgue-Sanchez. Communism was established in Cuba’s government following the overthrow of the Fugencio Batista regime during the Cuban Revolution in January 1959. Isalgue-Sanchez, who is originally from Cuba’s capital city La Habana, also known as Havana, described a country under strict government control with crumbling infrastructure, poor housing and a lack of resources.

After leaving Cuba and seeking asylum in the U.S., Isalgue-Sanchez and her family spent approximately three months in the Kansas City area where she said she attended Fort Osage High School in Independence for a short time. Isalgue-Sanchez’s parents are both Christian pastors and relocated to Cape Girardeau to help lead the newly implemented Hispanic ministry at La Croix Church.

“My parents are pastors and, in Cuba, if you are Christian, you are persecuted,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “... (They preached at) a big church. A lot of people went to that church and if (the government) knows a lot of people go to one place, that’s dangerous for them.”

Isalgue-Sanchez is driven by her Christian faith, listing it as one of the keys to her academic success at Cape Central. She also credited her family, teachers and her will to succeed as major contributors.

“I do the possible, but (God) does the impossible,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “My trust in his word is my strength.”

Because of not being able to speak English, going to school at Central was initially difficult. At Fort Osage, Isalgue-Sanchez said she didn’t need to speak English because of a large Spanish-speaking student population, but things were different at Cape Central.

“My first month when I came here, I didn't know English at all. I wasn't able to say, ‘Hello’, or ‘Hi’,  and that's really hard,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “There is no ‘hardest part’ because everything was hard, like (learning a) new language, (attending a) new school, (meeting) new people with a different culture and different styles. …  I remember when my parents asked me, ‘Hey, how was your day at school?’ I was like, ‘I just want to cry right now. I don’t want to answer that question.’”

Things got easier over time. Isalgue-Sanchez began to learn the language and understand the culture and credited her teachers and peers for helping her become more comfortable living in rural Missouri.

“Here we have really good teachers, and they helped me a lot,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “Just being here surrounded by people that speak English helped me improve my English. They always were like, ‘Hey, are you doing your homework? Are you shaking your grades? Are you checking your email?’

“I think being here at school, listening to a lot of music, working hard, practicing all the time and reading. I like to read. I made some friends and they helped me a lot. They would be like, ‘Say these things this way. Don't say that. This is bad. This is good.’”

Isalgue-Sanchez plans to study political science at SEMO, working toward her ultimate goal of becoming a lawyer.

“I'm between family law and immigration law. I'm not really sure which one but I'm between those,” Isalgue-Sanchez said. “I want to be an advocate for women and children who have been abused, and I also want to provide emotional support to those people and families during difficult times.”