海角大神

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Mendoza: Jennifer Ashley Ciballos is 21 years old. She鈥檚 a college student on a nursing track. The oldest of four. And she lives with her siblings, parents, and grandparents in a three-bedroom apartment in east Las Vegas.

Samantha Laine Perfas: In this series so far, we鈥檝e talked to women who鈥檝e either lost or left their jobs during the pandemic. Or 鈥� in the case of one teacher 鈥� thought about quitting.

Mendoza: But today we鈥檙e looking at a different issue: Instead of losing jobs, Jennifer Ashley and her younger sister, Jaelynn, had to start working 鈥� a lot 鈥� to help their family get by.听

Laine Perfas: We鈥檝e been saying that even though the U.S. is in recovery mode, the pandemic is leaving plenty for us to work through as a society. That鈥檚 especially true when it comes to young people like Jennifer Ashley and Jaelynn.

Mendoza: For more than a year, both women have had to manage school, taking care of their younger siblings, and working almost full time. And when you鈥檙e balancing paying for bills now versus prioritizing your future 鈥�

Laine Perfas: 鈥� a future that, hopefully, includes a college degree and a professional job, so that you can give your family a better life? It鈥檚 a lot to carry.听

Mendoza: How do you do all that and still hang on to the person you鈥檙e trying to become?听听

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Laine Perfas: I鈥檓 Samantha Laine Perfas.听

Mendoza: And I鈥檓 Jessica Mendoza. This is 鈥淪tronger.鈥�

Laine Perfas: What women lost to the pandemic, and how they鈥檙e winning it back.听

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Mendoza: Today (our final episode!): The Sisters.

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Laine Perfas: So we mentioned it before: The Ciballoses have a pretty big family.听

Mendoza: Their parents, Jeffrey and Maria, are from the Philippines. Jennifer Ashley was actually born there.听

Laine Perfas: Jeff and Maria worked throughout Jennifer Ashley鈥檚 childhood. But neither of them finished college. And it was often tough to keep the family afloat.听

Mendoza: As the oldest, Jennifer Ashley saw firsthand how it affected the family dynamic. For instance, to afford going to UNLV 鈥�

Laine Perfas: 鈥� that鈥檚 the University of Nevada Las Vegas 鈥�

Mendoza: 鈥� she has to rely on a bunch of different scholarships and grants. Every semester, Jennifer Ashley gets back whatever doesn鈥檛 get used for tuition and fees. This is pretty common for students on financial aid. But for Jennifer Ashley 鈥�

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Laine Perfas: There were other ways it was clear that they weren鈥檛 exactly rolling in dough. Like: Jennifer Ashley and her sister Jaelynn always had to split chores and other duties with their parents.听

Mendoza: But as their grandparents got older and their health declined, a lot of the work wound up with Jaelynn, who was in high school and usually home earlier than Jennifer Ashley or their parents.听

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Laine Perfas: But for all of that, the two sisters felt that pre-pandemic, their lives were pretty normal.

Mendoza: And the two of them are really close, even though they鈥檙e four years apart.

Mendoza: That鈥檚 Jennifer Ashley again. (And just a heads up 鈥� she called us from her car in one of our Zoom conversations. So the tape might sound different at times.)

Laine Perfas: At the same time, Jaelynn and Jennifer Ashley are also kind of opposites. If you have a sister 鈥� and I have two 鈥� it can be really funny how different you are from each other. And at least in my case, the younger sisters always seem to be way cooler.听

Mendoza: Yeah, I don鈥檛 know about you, Sam, but I felt very ancient and uncool when we met Jaelynn. She was rocking blonde hair with pink and blue highlights. Where for me, a little lipstick is like, 鈥淲atch out, she鈥檚 getting fancy!鈥�

Laine Perfas: Yeah, no, I definitely vibed more with Jennifer Ashley鈥檚 style. My clothes are, let鈥檚 just say 鈥渘eutral, earthy tones.鈥� And when I bought my first car in college, I was so excited to show my sister, and she literally said, 鈥淯m, that鈥檚 like, a teacher car.鈥� Womp womp.听

Mendoza: It鈥檚 like, What鈥檚 wrong with being like a teacher? I know some very cool teachers, personally.听

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Mendoza: Anyway, that was their life. Normal.

Laine Perfas: But after their dad, Jeff, lost his job, the sisters began to really feel the pressures of being in a family in survival mode. Pre-pandemic, Jennifer Ashley had been working at a nonprofit called Leaders In Training, or LIT. The group helps first-generation college students like her build leadership skills. Jennifer Ashley participated when she was in high school.

Mendoza: After Jeff got laid off, she began putting in more time at the office.听

Mendoza: And it didn鈥檛 take long for Jaelynn to want to pitch in too, even though she was only 16 at the time. She found work as a barista at a coffee shop chain called Dutch Bros.听

Laine Perfas: But together, what they made really helped cover the family expenses.听

Mendoza: That鈥檚 Jennifer Ashley again.听

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Laine Perfas: At first, it doesn鈥檛 seem too overwhelming. After all, it鈥檚 true that a lot of young people in the U.S. help their families pay the bills 鈥� and this was the case way before the pandemic.听

Mendoza: Molly Scott is a researcher at the Center for Income and Benefits at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. She鈥檚 done a bunch of work on young people鈥檚 economic contributions to their families.听

Laine Perfas: That on its own is an issue. But for families in those situations, it makes existing inequalities worse.听

Laine Perfas: That鈥檚 Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, also in D.C.听

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Mendoza: We got a real sense of what that was like for Jennifer Ashley and Jaelynn when we went to see them in late April. It was a lot.听

Laine Perfas: Their family鈥檚 apartment, for one thing, is a busy place. There always seemed to be grandparents or little siblings or pets everywhere. (Their dad keeps four birds in the house.)

Laine Perfas: It took some time to find a quiet enough place for us to record 鈥� their parents鈥� room, where the birds were only kind of audible.

Mendoza: When we were all more or less settled in, we asked each of them to tell us what a typical day was like for them during the pandemic. For Jennifer Ashley 鈥撎�

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Laine Perfas: She鈥檇 be in class until about 10:30 or so. And then she鈥檇 check in with her parents and Jaelynn about their schedules 鈥撎�

Mendoza: The Ciballoses have only one working car, and it鈥檚 a daily struggle to figure out who gets to use it when. So a coworker who lives nearby will usually just give Jennifer Ashley a ride to work.听

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Laine Perfas: Jennifer Ashley鈥檚 official title at LIT is program manager. She both handles administrative stuff and works with students in the program.

Mendoza: And that would be her whole afternoon. She鈥檇 leave work around 5 or 6, be home by 6:30 鈥撎�

Laine Perfas: That鈥檚 around the time that Jaelynn gets off from work.听

Mendoza: Which, even though she鈥檚 younger and in high school, Jaelynn鈥檚 days are at least as hectic as her sister鈥檚.听

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Laine Perfas: She grabs some breakfast, gets ready, and then she leaves for school at 8:15. She and her dad will drop off her little sister Janine 鈥撎�

Mendoza: School is what you鈥檇 expect. Afterwards, their dad does the whole thing in reverse: he picks Jaelynn up from school, they go get Janine 鈥撎�

Mendoza: At the coffee shop, Jaelynn works a six-hour shift.

Laine Perfas: It sounds busy 鈥� because it is.听

Laine Perfas: The Dutch Bros where she works is kind of like this big kiosk. It has a drive-through window, for cars, and also another window where people could literally walk up to order. Which was what we did.听

Mendoza: It was a Sunday when we went to see her at work. But Jaelynn鈥檚 weeknight shift usually starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 11. Which makes for super long days.听

Laine Perfas: And after a while, the pace of everything would really catch up with her. With both of them. After all, they were doing all this 鈥� hybrid classes and going to work 鈥� during the pandemic.听

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Mendoza: Jennifer Ashley, for her part, also really internalizes her role as the oldest. And that adds an extra layer of conflict for her.听听

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Mendoza: And that鈥檚 the heart of the issue for the Ciballos sisters. Jaelynn is a rising senior looking ahead to college. And Jennifer Ashley is trying to make grades good enough to get into nursing school. But how do you plan for your future when you鈥檙e just trying to keep up in the present?听

Laine Perfas: Coming up: Where the sisters are finding strength, hope, and time to dream 鈥� for themselves, and for each other.听

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Laine Perfas: Throughout the pandemic, Jennifer Ashley and Jaelynn Ciballos were juggling an overwhelming schedule of school, and work, and planning for the future. And they were doing it all from a home that was not, let鈥檚 say, super conducive for quiet study or personal reflection.听

Mendoza: So when we sat down with them 鈥撎�

Laine Perfas: 鈥� and their mom, Maria 鈥撎�

Mendoza: 鈥� at their apartment this past spring, one of the things we wanted to know was: Was there ever any time to recharge? Where did they find the energy to keep going?听

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Mendoza: And this is something we came to understand about the Ciballoses. So much of what drives their lives is family.听

Laine Perfas: For Jennifer Ashley, that鈥檚 really meant carrying the weight not just of her own future, but that of her family.听

Mendoza: In one of our first Zoom conversations, she told us that the first big thing she wanted to buy after she became a nurse was a house for her parents.听

Laine Perfas: She said something similar when we met them in person:听

Laine Perfas: It鈥檚 like, even if she sometimes feels trapped in her situation, she鈥檚 using that to motivate herself, too. And her family sees it. They all see each other making it work, and love each other for it, even if they don鈥檛 always tell each other that.听

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Mendoza:听I don鈥檛 know if you can tell, but the waterworks were definitely on by then. And the whole time her daughters were talking about each other, Maria, their mom, kind of just sat there, listening, the face mask she was wearing growing damp from her own tears. Miles, the youngest, was trying to get everyone鈥檚 attention, but Sam went ahead with one more question for Maria.

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Laine Perfas: Before we wrap up, we want to bring in one more person who鈥檚 had a front-row seat to Jennifer Ashley and Jaelynn鈥檚 experience. And that鈥檚 Erica Mosca, the founder of LIT 鈥� the nonprofit where Jennifer Ashley worked as a program manager. And where both sisters were also students at different times.听

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Mendoza: Back at the Ciballoses鈥� home, we asked the women about their hopes for the future.听

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Mendoza: What a journey this has been, Sam.

Laine Perfas: I know! I鈥檓 like, weeping, happy tears, sad tears, all the tears, and I鈥檓 just so grateful that all these amazing women just opened up about their year to us. I learned so much. And I really hope we can all move forward from this, you know, stronger.听Wink, wink.

Mendoza: OK. I see what you did there. But no, you鈥檙e right. And we鈥檙e so thankful to all of you for joining us. Whether this is the only episode you鈥檝e listened to, or if you鈥檝e been with us through this whole series, thank you so much.听

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Mendoza: And if we could lean on your support one more time: Please rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.听

Laine Perfas: And to find transcripts for the episodes and photos of all the women, visit csmonitor.com/stronger.听

Mendoza: This episode was reported and produced by me, Jessica Mendoza.

Laine Perfas: And me, Samantha Laine Perfas.

Mendoza: Edited by Clay Collins and Trudy Palmer. Sound design by Morgan Anderson and Noel Flatt. We also want to thank Ann Hermes and Jake Turcotte for their work on the art for this series.听

Laine Perfas: This podcast was brought to you by 海角大神. Copyright 2021.听

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