Helping hand
McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity program offers opportunities and hope
This is a story about hope and the heroes who made the hope and ultimate success possible. One young lady named Esperanza, which in Spanish means hope, was given a tremendous opportunity and held on to it until she found success. All of this was possible because of a hero, in fact several heroes.
Esperanza Rodriguez, or Espy as she prefers to be called, is a young lady who encountered some obstacles on her road to adulthood. She ended up a young mother without a high school diploma working to support herself and her family. It was a struggle, to say the least.
However, because she was working at McDonald’s, she discovered its Archways to Opportunity program, was able to take advantage of its free opportunities, study and receive her high school diploma. She is now able to continue her education using McDonald’s tuition assistance program. Espy dreams of being a pediatrician one day.
The hero is McDonald’s, which offers a free educational program to all its employees, and our local McDonald’s heroes Julian Garza and his daughter Clemy Garza, who encourage their employees at the Garza Organization to participate in the Archways to Opportunity program, and work with them and encourage them throughout the process. Clemy Garza supported Rodriguez all the way during her studies to obtain her high school diploma and career certificate.
Archways to Opportunity is so much more than a McDonald’s marketing slogan; it’s so much more than pretty talk from a giant corporation. It changes lives, one person at a time. It creates success, which in turn will encourage others to strive for success also.
McDonald’s began Archways to Opportunity in 2015, providing its employees with free educational opportunities. The program has three components, all aimed at helping employees succeed and grow, both personally and professionally. English Under the Arches is an English as a Second Language program that meets the needs of employees with varying levels of English proficiency. The Career Online High School is a nationally accredited high school completion program that allows students to work on their own time at their own pace to receive their diploma. At the same time, students earn one of eight career certificates to aid in future employment. Finally, McDonald’s offers tuition assistance for students attending higher education institutions.
McDonald’s sponsors these programs and offers them free to all employees. Espy also took advantage of the mentorship component of the program, using an academic advisor to guide her and support her throughout her studies. All McDonald’s employees anywhere can participate in the Archways to Opportunity program.
McDonald’s and the Garzas are well-known in Rio Rancho for their commitment to the community and their generous giving; they have been true community heroes for a long time. The Archways to Opportunity program reminds us that corporations can also be heroes, and McDonald’s is definitely one. Working for McDonald’s is so much more than the “dead-end job” it is often called; McDonald’s provides opportunities and hope.
McDonald’s is changing the world one life at a time. And the changes will multiply exponentially as those lives touch other lives and so on. As Rodriguez said, “I did it not only for myself but to set the example for my children” so that they will know how important education is and that with it they can be anything they want to be.