There’s a term that’s used to describe the challenges students face when they want to continue their education: education barriers. These barriers represent all the things that could discourage or prevent them from going back to school: tuition cost, child care, professional obligations, no support network, chronic health issues, lack of access to educational resources, and other issues. Rio Salado College student Jose Alfredo Loya Piria has first-hand experience running up against these barriers: he’s had to overcome immense tragedy and adversity to further his education.
Rio Salado College, the largest provider of adult education in Arizona, hosted its 31st annual National Adult Education Honor Society (NAEHS) induction ceremony earlier this spring. Piria was among this year’s NAEHS inductees, receiving this honor in recognition of “his relentless hard work, dedication, and determination to achieve his goals despite the challenges he faces.”
Piria was nominated for this honor by High School Equivalency (HSE) and Career Instructor Katrina Parker, who wrote in her testimonial that, "each step he takes is a testament to his commitment to self-improvement and his vision for a brighter future." Piria’s acceptance into NAEHS is the latest in a series of educational accomplishments that are made all the more impressive when you take his past history into account.
Piria is very motivated by his family. This dedication to kin stretches back to his childhood, when he dropped out of school while living in El Paso, Texas, at the age of 12 so he could sell ice cream on the streets to help support his six siblings. Much of his early education came from doing hands-on work with his father, who taught him how to drive a tractor before he started going to school.
“Later, in my learning journey, I had to depend on myself,” Piria said. “I worked very hard to learn and I take my education very seriously. Even when I was in jail, I didn’t stop studying.”
Piria would endure hard losses in his life: his mother (a woman he called "a force of nature, raising six kids by the age of 28") and daughter passed away within three months of each other. Piria is also a widower who faced the sorrow of watching his beloved wife pass away from lung cancer.
"She faced her cancer diagnosis with a courage I'll never forget, smiling and telling me, 'It's my time,'" Piria said.
What’s remarkable about Piria is that he has continued to pursue his education throughout these tragic events. From doing a stint in trade school in 2013 to his current ambition to earn his HSE diploma by taking preparation courses at Rio Salado-Thomas location and then continue his electrical training at South Mountain Community College, Piria remains focused on his education.
That dedication has paid off: he’s already earned two National Retail Federation certificates in Retail Customer Service and Warehouse. Parker noted in Piria’s NAEHS application that his test scores and reading level have increased dramatically since he started working toward mastering his GED requirements.
“Jose’s progress is not accidental— it is the result of his consistent effort, willingness to engage with challenging material, and refusal to let setbacks define him,” Parker wrote.
Reflecting on the hardships he’s experienced as a widower, Piria emphasizes the importance of turning grief into action.
“Through all of this, I’ve learned that life isn’t about avoiding struggles,” he said. “It’s about rising through them. It’s about transforming pain into purpose.”
Article by Austin Brietta