Joliet Junior College commencement speaker is 1st college graduate in her family

Andrea Barron, 20, of Morris recalled her first memory of the being in the United States.

She was a student at White Oak Elementary School in Morris and fortunate enough to be in a bilingual class, Barron said.

“I still remember the feeling of getting a grasp of English,” Barron said.

Barron, a member of Joliet Junior College’s Class of 2023, addressed the audience Friday night as student commencement speaker at Joliet Junior College’s graduation ceremony.

Barron is the first college graduate in her family. She served as an assistant speech coach at Morris Community College and also is a member of the JJC Players drama club.

Barron will attend Aurora University in the fall and major in communications with a specialization in public relations and event planning. She said it’s challenging pursuing higher education and is thankful that Joliet Junior College provided her with resources, especially scholarships, so she didn’t qualify for financial said.

“I worked hard to get here,” Barron said.

‘If something matters to her, she’s invested’

Brian Fruits, assistant professor theater at Joliet Junior College, said he’s been following Barron’s career from afar since she was a junior at Morris Community High School.

Fruits said he was a speech coach at Morris Community High School and is still on the circuit of IHSA speech teams as a judge.

“I’ve actually seen Andrea in person and thought she was outstanding in terms of language and poetry back then,” Fruits said. “Andrea had a consistent track record of success in terms of rising above and beyond expectations.”

Fruits said he’s also had the privilege of working with Barron in two productions at JJC. One was “The Wolves,” a play by “The Wolves” by Sarah Delappe and the other was “Come and Go” a one-act play by Samuel Becket.

She’s not going to stop until she gets the best out of herself. But, she also wants the best for others. That’s what makes her special. She’s not going to make excuses. Andrea is going to do the job and do it well – and then go above that.”

—  Brian Fruits, associate professor at Joliet Junior College

He said Barron has a calming effect on a team or cast in a production because she “soaks in things” and isn’t “very reactionary.”

Fruits said Barron also comes off as very quiet, but not in a bad way “because when Andre does speak up and does say something, the group listens.”

Fruits appreciates that Barron is a “person of action” who not only wants to learn, but also to excel.

“She’s not going to stop until she gets the best out of herself,” Fruits said. “She also wants the best for others. That’s what makes her special. She’s not going to make excuses. Andrea is going to do the job and do it well – and then go above that.”

Fruits praised Barron’s work ethic and passion for things that are important to her, such as her studies, extracurricular activities, family and friends.

He said people love her, respect her and that she’s a great role model who is “just scratching the surface” in terms of success in her life.

“If something matters to her, she’s invested. She’s absolutely invested,” Fruits said. “She’s not going to sit there and complain when things get difficult. She’s a doer and she’s going to be proactive … she works tremendously hard.”

A love for communication

Barron said she and her parents came from Mexico City, Mexico, to Morris and recalled preferring Spanish until the first grade.

“I would always tell my mom to put my Barbie movies in Spanish. That became my comfort language,” Barron said. “Now my primary language, my comfort language, is English.”

Barron said she became immersed in the English language in school and through her relationships with her friends.

“The biggest reason for me to use Spanish now is just to communicate with my parents, mainly,” Barron said.

Her love for communications began in seventh grade when she became involved in her school’s speech team. That exposed her to a wide variety of public speaking, acting, reading and writing – nudging her toward a career in the liberal arts, she said.

“I’ve always been very fond of writing,” Barron said. “When I found I could write something I could present, I thought, ‘This is like gold.’ ... I really liked the idea of having a platform where my voice can be heard.”

Barron said her only family in the U.S. are Juan Barron, her mother Alejandra Barron Ponce de Leon and her younger sister Camila Barron.

“I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is to reach out for help and that it’s OK to do that,” Barron said. “Growing up, I felt like I had to do everything myself. I had no one else to rely on.”

Barron said she never felt comfortable asking for help until she came to JJC, but now she wants to encourage other students, especially other undocumented students, to reach out to a trusted person for help when they need it.

“They should not feel like they are trapped and alone,” Barron said. “They are allowed to flourish, and they are the only ones who can stop themselves from doing that.”