"They took UStheresaying that it was a place we were just going to hang out at for a few days and they would then come get us, but that was a lie," junior Alberto De Pena said. "They were just going to leave us there." De Pena, a junior computer science major, was born in Hato de Yaque, Dominican Republic, a neighborhood of gangs and poverty. His life changed at the age of 10 when his parents dropped him and his three younger siblings off at the children's home run by Manna Global Ministries in Babita, Rio San Juan. De Pena said he and his siblings had no rules growing up; they were troublemakers because they were just looking for things to do. He said he understood why his parents took them to the shelter-they were hoping to give them a brighter future. One by one, his siblings and many other children returned to the dangerous streets they were used to, but not De Pena. He credited his grandmother for his excelling in the children's home. She always told him, "If you study, you can be somebody." Martin and Gina Staelen worked at the children's home when De Pena arrived. Gina was responsible for keeping the children. "She's kinda bossy, so everyone who went to her house wouldn't have such a nice time because she would get onto them, which is what she's supposed to do," De Pena said. "I didn't mind so much because I wanted to learn." Staelen taught De Pena everything from piano to computers. "I rememberthe first time Isaw a computer," De Pena said. "I thought it was aTV with colors, and I had no idea what the buttons were for." When the time came for their ministry in the Dominican Republic to be finished, the Staelens sat De Pena down and made him a proposition: they wanted to adopt him and bring him with them to America. They asked for legal permission to bring him with them to the U.S. and it was granted. "You'd think parents wouldn't want people to take their son away, but they said, 'Take him and make somebody out of him,"' Staelen said. At age 15, De Pena packed up everything and embarked on a journey to a new life. He had never set foot on an airplane, let alone been out of his country.After two connections and a bustIing New York City cab ride, he arrived in Knoxville, Tenn;,.. "The house we lived in seemed like the onesyoll' see on TV," De Pena said. "They are people who live in the middle class, not rich, but compared tel ·'" our people they are. I couldn't believe it; I was iii" shock. Going to Wai-Mart was crazy to me, and you have to drive everywhere. In the Dominican Republic you have to ride a donkey or walk and everything is nearby, so here was really different." De Pena came to Harding as a freshman in the fall of 2008. Since then, De Pena joined the social club Kyodai and developed close relationships with an extensive group of friends. "Alberto is one ofthe few people Iwi ll stay close with for the rest of my life," De Pena's roommate junior Juicy Thomas said. "He's just a fun guy and he always has something positive to say when you need it." Monique jacques y took us e saying it was a place we were just going to hang out at for a few days ... that was a 1e juniors 83
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