Students
A worthwhile journey to an advanced degree
Petra Mansfield plans to support families in South Monterey County after finishing her Master of Social Work
Petra Mansfield commutes 75 miles , one way , to take classes leading to her master ’ s of social work degree at Cal State Monterey Bay . That may seem like a long trip … until you consider the obstacles
Mansfield has already overcome in pursuit of her education .
The mother of six grown children , Mansfield , 59 , lives with her husband in San Ardo , a small town in south Monterey County . She works for the Kinship Center , a non-profit adoption , foster care and relative care agency .
Raised in a rural village in Mexico , Mansfield had little exposure to formal education until after coming to the U . S . as a teenager .
“ I was fascinated by the English language and wanted to learn it . Television was good for me . I used to watch the ‘ I Love Lucy ’ shows . I liked Lucy ’ s enthusiasm and her comedy , and her husband was Hispanic , and I could identify with that ,”
Mansfield said . “ Learning to speak the language wasn ’ t enough . I wanted to learn to read . But because I never went to school in Mexico , it was challenging . The dictionary was my best friend . I would read a definition of one word and in that definition , I found other words I had to look up ,” she said . Eventually , she earned her GED , and began her pursuit of a degree at Hartnell College . She acknowledges it was intimidating at first , but she found plenty of helpful staff and faculty , first at Hartnell and then at Cal State Monterey Bay , to keep her going .
“ I believe this school really means what it says when it comes to empowering students and the mission statement . I like how they focus on diversity and ethics . We ( the graduates ) really carry that with us ,” Mansfield said .
She is on track to receive her MSW in May and she plans to continue to work on issues she sees in her community .
“ My goal is to be able to provide support to families in South County . There are a lot of mental health issues , gang issues ,” she said . “ You see people coming from Mexico in search of a better life . Often the parents have to work 10-12 hours a day out in the fields , and who is babysitting the children then ? What kind of care are they getting ?”
– James Tinney
Kevin Garcia