Fatherhood Prompts Career Change

Romo Earns Degree and Citizenship

by Andrea Borregard

Owensboro, KY (12/03/2019) — José Romo's family arrived in the United States when he was seven years old. They moved from Franklin, Tennessee to Russell Springs, Kentucky, where Romo graduated high school. Ultimately, they settled in Tell City, Indiana where they opened the family's restaurant, Los Amigos. Romo's mother began working on establishing permanent residency for her family shortly after their arrival. By Romo's account, the process was tedious, but his mother was determined to see it through. Her persistence paid off and Romo was granted permanent residency status at the age of 19.

Growing up, Romo's parents never placed a huge emphasis on attending college. He said, "My parents wanted us to work hard and make a better life for ourselves, but that didn't necessarily mean going to college." While working at Los Amigos, Romo decided he wanted to know more about running the restaurant and things he could do to help his family's business. He decided to pursue a degree in Business Administration at Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC). Romo earned his Associate in Applied Science degree in August 2015.

After graduation, he intended to transfer to WKU to complete his bachelor's degree; however, he unexpectedly had to return to Mexico to care for a family member who was ill. After sitting out for some time, Romo admitted the difficulty in finding the motivation to return to school. It wasn't until he met his wife, Tarah, that he began to think more about his future. In 2018, Romo found out he and his wife were expecting their first child. This life change prompted him to re-evaluate his career plans. He said, "The restaurant industry takes up a lot of time - nights and weekends especially. I wanted to be an available father for my son, so I started thinking about going back to school and doing something different."

Romo returned to OCTC in Fall 2018 to pursue a degree in Engineering and Electronics Technology. He spoke in depth about the benefits of the program: hands on education and experience; fun, challenging content; and the emphasis on problem solving. Romo credits his business and electrical instructors for his success in both programs. He said, "They don't care where you come from. They only want to get you where you want to go. They are so knowledgeable and expect so much. As a student, you want to emulate that," stated Romo. He's also a huge supporter of the family-like feeling at OCTC. "The faculty and staff here really care. They want you to better yourself. In some of my classes, I was the only Hispanic student in the room and I never felt like I didn't belong. Everyone is so accepting here."

Romo is on track to graduate with his Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Engineering and Electrical Technology on December 19, 2019 and has already started looking for a position as an industrial electrician. His dream is to work for a company that has ties to both the U.S. and Mexico so that he can travel back and forth between both places. A change in career was not the only thing prompted by fatherhood. Romo also took the steps to become a U.S. citizen in order to ensure his family would always be allowed to stay together. His request for citizenship was granted April 2019.

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