Growing Up METRO
Near Northside Resident, Yohana Franco, Shares How Transit Impacted Her Life
It’s a sunny afternoon at Houston Community College’s Central campus and Yohana Franco has just finished her classes for the day. She steps out of the school’s century-old San Jacinto Memorial building and makes her way across a sun-drenched courtyard. Beaming with a kind-hearted smile, the Houston heat doesn’t seem to bother her.
The Houston native and Near Northside resident graduated in May from HISD's Northside High, finishing 11th in her class. She will head to the University of Texas in the fall to study international business, but in the meantime, Franco has decided to complete college courses over the summer for additional credit.
“My high school counselor told me that taking college courses over the summer would give me a head start and save money,” says Franco. “This campus is easy enough to get to. I just hop on the train.”
Each day, Franco boards a METRO Red Line train to HCC Central. Once her classes are finished, she gets back on the train and takes it to Northline Station where she connects to the 36 Kempwood bus route. The bus then takes Franco to her summer internship at a State Farm insurance agency in Garden Oaks, a 1940s era neighborhood just north of the Houston Heights.
“Yohana’s work ethic is second to none,” said Franco’s boss, Jose Jimenez. “She’s a wonderful example of tenacity and she has a bright future ahead of her.”
Franco will be the second person in her family to go to college. Her older sister recently completed her degree at Texas State University. She said she is thankful because it’s an opportunity her own parents never had.
“My dad is from Los Hoyos, Hidalgo, a small town in Mexico. He came here at the age of 16 for an opportunity to make a better life for himself. Although he didn’t have a formal education, he was a hard worker. He was the breadwinner of our family because my mom stayed home to raise four kids. They both sacrificed a lot for us,” said Franco. “When I graduated among the top of my class, I saw how proud they were. For them, all those sacrifices were worth it.”
Franco says a big part of the opportunities afforded to her and her family were only possible because of access to public transportation. Her memories of riding the bus go back to early childhood.
"We rode the bus for as long as I can remember. My father worked long hours and he was the only one in our family who drove,” said Franco. “If we wanted to go anywhere during the day, we took the bus. METRO took us to the grocery store. It took us to doctors' appointments. It took us to parks, the library, and the zoo. Because I was involved in after-school activities, METRO was also my only way of getting home since school buses didn’t run that late in the day.”
Franco says by middle school, she had no problem riding on her own.
“It really helped me become more independent. I never had to depend on anyone to get around. Plus, I also know how to navigate this city with my eyes closed,” she chuckled. “It also helps me save a lot of money. I spend it on things I need instead of gas or UBER rides.”
As Franco looks forward to the next chapter of her life, she says that sense of independence and adventure is something she’ll take with her to college.
“I know I can do things on my own,” she said. “Austin is such an exciting city. There is so much to do and see.”
And of course, she says, she’ll be using public transportation to do all of it.
“It really helped me become more independent. I never had to depend on anyone to get around.”
Originally featured in METRO Connections: July 2018. To subscribe to future issues, click here.