Entrepreneurial leaders may seem like misfits at school — but they persevere.
More History: Lupita Reyes and her nearly six-decade Holland radio show
More History: The innovation of Engbertus VanderVeen
After graduating from Holland High School, Lupita married Celestino (“Tino”) Reyes, and discovered it was difficult finding a place to rent. So, she shared her concerns with the Ottawa Board of Commissioners. Afterwards, she received notes telling her to go back to where she came from. But she didn't listen.
Tino and Lupita started their family. To support them, Lupita took a part-time job as a salesclerk at JC Penney, on Eighth Street and River Avenue, the former site of VanderVeen Hardware, where JB and Me is today.
Next, she took a job as a legal secretary, then as a billing clerk for a trucking company. But she wanted to help more people, and she wanted a higher paying job. To achieve that, she believed she needed a college degree.
So, she drove to Grand Valley State University in Allendale to see a counselor. When she told the counselor she believed she didn't have the money or grades to go to college, the counselor asked to see her high school transcripts.
Lupita drove to Holland High School to get them, then drove back to GVSU — all on the same day. The counselor was amazed. But then, the counselor amazed Lupita. She told Lupita that her 3.0 GPA could be good enough to get her into college. Next the counselor asked Lupita what she'd like to study. Lupita thought social work.
But still, she faced hurdles. It was the 1960s, and Lupita had yet to tell Tino she wanted to go to college. The initial conversation didn't go well. Lupita started to doubt her dream and, losing hope, she also doubted what the college counselor had said.
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After three weeks, a letter came in the mail. At first, Lupita didn't dare open it. If the school didn't accept her, she would be disappointed — if it did accept her, she would have to tell Tino her dream again.
She wasn't disappointed. So, she made Tino his favorite meal and, after the kids were asleep, she brought out the letter. But his response was the same. Lupita called her mother for support. That conversation didn't go well, either.
Undaunted, Lupita found a way. She arranged her academic schedule so she would be available for her children when they arrived home from school. Then, when her classes started, in every spare moment she had, she studied.
But again, there were headwinds. One of her professors told her she couldn't be a mom and go to school. At home, it felt like Tino was giving her the silent treatment.