From student to teacher

WORLAND – "I never thought I would come to America and never go back. As a little kid, you don't think much of it," Worland High School teacher Jesus Davila said.

Jesus Davila moved to Worland in 2001 with his family from Melchor Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico, and now teaches math in the halls he once learned in.

"In the 1990s, my uncle who lives in Eagle Pass, Texas came here to do work in the beets field," Davila said, and his father came to the states for a season to do migrant work. That was their connection to Worland.

"He would come over and work ... but he wanted something more for us than the life we had in Mexico," Davila said.

As his family prepared for the move, Davila said, "We ended up having to sell everything we had, and with the help of some of dad's brothers we went to the U.S. Embassy to get our visas. We wanted the opportunity to be whatever we wanted to be."

His family had every intention of staying in Worland so he and his siblings could have more educational opportunity, but it was an experience learning the language.

Davila came to Worland when he was in sixth grade, and he said he didn't know any English. "The district hired a translator for me for the first year and by six months I could understand a little and after that one year, I was completely on my own (speaking English)," he said.

"When I graduated in Mexico I had good grades. I was a good student," Davila said. "I was just thrown into it ... It's tough. It was frustrating ...I didn't want people thinking I was dumb. I just couldn't communicate."

Leaving things behind for opportunity

"Our goal was to come to Worland and stay here so my parents could give us the educational opportunity," Davila said. "Our first job in Worland was cleaning beet fields during the summer. We did that for four seasons. (They were) great memories working with not only my family, but my extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins. Including my grandpa one season."

He said while his parents left everything behind to come to Worland, they also left their families and comfortability, which was the hardest.

Spring of 2015 was the first time his family was able to go back to Mexico since leaving for Worland in 2001. "Going back I got to see and value the sacrifice my parents made by coming to America. They left everything they knew and ... had behind.

That was the first time my parents saw their parents, he said.

Motivation

"What motivated me to go to college is my parents' sacrifices. They sacrificed a lot for us moving away from their family, friends and everything they knew," Davila said. "I'll always be indebted to my parents for that."

"I went to school at Northwest College in Powell for my associate degree and then the University of Wyoming for my bachelor's," Davila said.

Davila said his upbringing helps him motivate students. "I had to take advantage of that opportunity (my parents gave me) and I always tell my students to take advantage of what you have."

He said it's concerning that the graduation rates aren't where they need to be. "This country, it's the greatest country in the world. Even when we're at where we're at now, there's so much opportunity. At its worse, this country is still better than other countries around the world," Davila said.

Being a success here, it's one of those things that if you work hard in this country and are disciplined in what you do, the opportunities are endless," Davila said.

"I tell my students ... you don't know how much other kids around the world would give in order to take that opportunity (to graduate)," he said.

How it all feels

Davila started teaching in Washakie County School District No. 1 in 2013. "It was one of those things that, its home. Our families are still here. We wanted our kids to be raised near their grandparents. We're very family oriented."

Now as a teacher teaching in the school district he grew up in, Davila said he talks to the other teachers, his co-workers that were once his vision of education, and they remember him saying, "I'm going to come back one day and take your job. I'm going to teach at this school and I did," he said with a laugh.

Worland is special to him, and Davila said, "I always wanted to come back and serve the community that gave me so much and the school district that supported me," and now as high school math teacher and middle school soccer coach, Davila has fulfilled that personal goal.