This North Carolina resident has helped many immigrants and has earned a major award from the Mexican government for his work. He heads the Brunswick Educational Transition Center. DP
Trulin clears path to education for his fellow countrymen
By Ana Ribeiro, Staff Writer
Driving from Texas, Fernando Trulin had a near-death experience.
Trulin said he barely escaped after a gang robbed, beat and kidnapped him as he passed through New Orleans. Later, crossing the Cape Fear Bridge into Wilmington with a swollen face, he sensed a transformation.
“I felt a spark saying, ‘Fernando, this is your home, and you have to do something to help Hispanics here,’ ” said the Mexican, who is now Brunswick Community College’s director of Latino programs and the go-to guy in the area’s Latino community.
About 25 years after Trulin made that trip, his work has earned him an Ohtli Award (from the Aztec word meaning “path”), given by Mexico’s government. It’s one of the highest honors Mexicans can receive, in this case for dedicating their lives to opening paths to fellow countrymen abroad.
“That describes Fernando. He’s dedicated his life to helping others,” said Stephen Greiner, BCC’s president. “He cares a lot about people, and he shows that by creating opportunities for people in education.”
Trulin, 61, head of BCC’s Brunswick Educational Transition Center, will drop what he’s doing to help those who seek him, offering advice on taxes, housing and life, sending them to employers and agencies.
Founded by Trulin in 2004, the center known as “La Plaza” teaches immigrants English and gives them the opportunity to get a GED, take vocational and other college courses, and finish high school through an online portal to Mexico. “La Plaza,” which collaborates with various agencies, has several hundred students a year, and Trulin has taken the education portal to 18 communities in the Carolinas, Greiner said.
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