In 2022, Karla Robles was asked what she wanted her legacy to be.
“Just encourage them [students] to pursue their dreams whether you’re documented or not documented, affluent or not,” Robles responded. “To really work hard and look at their families and know that it takes one generation to break cycles.”
Robles was a bilingual school counselor at Pacheco Elementary within the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
“Karla was an immigrant. She came here at seven years old from Mexico, so she understood the obstacles that these young people faced,” said Robles’ partner Rick Mayfield. “When she passed, I was really struck by the number of young women who reached out, who were in college, who reached out to say what an impact she had on their lives.”
Latinas who found a role model in Robles shared the following memories during her celebration of life.
“She was a kind, smart, Latina woman, and as a young immigrant child, there are very few people that look like me, talk the same language as me, and not share the same culture as me that I could look up to in that way,” said Cinthia Hernandez-Quiroz, who went to Pacheco Elementary School.
“It is definitely a soul that will be missed and she will always hold a very special place in my heart,” said Karina Gonzalez, also a student at Pacheco Elementary School.
Robles died in October at the age of 51 from an aggressive cancer. Mayfield, who is retired from the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, decided to take action to keep her passion for higher education alive.
“While she helped all students, she had a special affinity for young Latina women and helping them to overcome the obstacles that they had as immigrants or first-generation college students in their family,” Mayfield said.
Mayfield, along with the San Luis Coastal Education Foundation, created the Karla Robles Latina Legacy Fund to support high school Latinas enrolled in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
“We're currently in the process of raising money, and then in the spring, we'll have a round of identifying students who need some support to attend college,” Mayfield said.
They have raised at least $3,000 so far.
“We have to do something to keep this going, to keep her work alive, to keep her alive, and I'm just really excited,” Mayfield said. “I think she would like this.”
If you would like to learn more about the Karla Robles Latina Legacy Fund or would like to make a donation, click here.
