Immigrants' kids use the power of education, hard work to realize the American dream

This is a fairly typical American family: parents work hard in factories, putting all their children through college. The difference is that it is a Latino family and the parents never went to high school, but they know how important education is for their kids.    - - Donna Poisl

By Julie Anderson / World-Herald staff writer

It's a typical night in the Cortes family's spotless home on a quiet Bellevue cul-de-sac.

Claudia Cortes, president of her senior class at Bellevue West High School, pores over an inch-thick calculus book. Sister Daniela, a junior who's also heavily involved in school activities, alternates between an AP psychology book and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

Brother Luis Fernando Cortes, a junior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, washes dishes and laughs and chats with mom, Rosa, as she starts dinner. Dad Luis Cortes pops in to chop tomatoes and peppers for pico de gallo. Only Roxana, 23, is missing. She's in Lincoln, where she has a full ride to study law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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