By Emily Chaffins -

MIAMI | On May 26, 2023, Janeth and Jaime Arguello watched their daughter Jamie Cecilia Arguello walk across the stage at her high school graduation – an experience neither of them had, and a moment all three of them have worked and sacrificed for.

Jamie graduated from Msgr. Edward Pace High School in the top 10% of her class, earning an AP Capstone distinction while also graduating from the EMT Academy. She also was recognized as a Step Up Super Senior and received Pace’s St. Marcelin Champagnat Peer Ministry Award, among a multitude of other honors. Now a freshman at the University of Florida, Jamie was accepted into a total of 10 universities and offered five college scholarships.

However, Jamie’s journey toward achievement didn’t come easily – for her or her family.

Her mother Janeth McPherson, originally from Buenaventura, Colombia, emigrated with her two older sisters to join their father in Miami when she was 17, in June 1989.

“I’m proud to say that we came first class: Avianca,” she said, chuckling.

Although she finished high school in Colombia, “I did not have the opportunity to walk in my graduation.” Janeth added that her goal in coming to the U.S. was “to have a better life and education.”

Jaime was born in León, Nicaragua, one of eight brothers and four sisters. When he was eight years old, his mother died, followed soon after by his father. His grandmother and two of his sisters raised him.

At 17, because of compulsory military service, Jaime spent five years fighting in his country’s civil war. “All the kids after 17 years old had to go to the war,” he said. He graduated from high school but never got his diploma “because of the war and everything.”

Though the civil war ended, the violence did not. Many of the ex-combatants were persecuted and killed. In the early 1990s, soon after the end of the war and his grandmother’s death, Jaime requested asylum in the United States.

Because of the cost of attending and because he kept having to leave and re-enroll in college whenever his work permit expired, college ended up not being a viable option for Jaime.

He was working the night shift at a gas station when he met Janeth. She was working part-time while attending Miami Dade College. They met on a Sunday in 1996, soon after the death of her father. She pulled into the number eight pump to fill up her tank and inquire about her lottery numbers.

That’s when both their lives changed forever.

“He started changing his job schedule to see me — I didn’t know that,” Janeth recalled, smiling.

As they spent more time together, their friendship deepened.

Laughing, Jaime remembered how he considered himself Janeth’s friend until “she told me, no, we are novios” – boyfriend and girlfriend.

Twenty-five years ago, on July 18, 1998, they were married at Mission San Francisco y Santa Clara of Corpus Christi Parish in Miami. Their wedding was the first held at the mission.

Janeth continued to take college courses while working, now full-time, at the Archdiocese of Miami Pastoral Center. Their mother, who had arrived from Colombia a month before their wedding, lived with them. Then Janeth began online schooling at Florida International University.

“I saw it (as) gratitude,” said Janeth. “She gave me birth, and she didn’t have the opportunity like me to go to a school, to sit down and read and write. She didn’t know how to read and write.”

The Arguellos hoped for a child. But it seemed impossible. That’s when a coworker introduced them to a Natural Family Planning consultant, Cecilia Soñé, a Respect Life volunteer and nurse practitioner. One month into the NFP program, Janeth discovered she was pregnant with their daughter, Jamie – their “miracle,” Janeth said, conceived seven years into their marriage.

“I remember when Janeth got pregnant,” her husband said. “The first day, we received a letter from the doctor saying that, ‘I’m sorry, Janeth ... but I think you’re never going to get pregnant.’ And she was already pregnant!”

The Arguellos thought it essential that their daughter receive a Catholic education, because their faith is the center of their lives. She attended St. Mary Cathedral School from pre-K3 to eighth grade and Msgr. Pace for high school.

“Going to Catholic school is a (gift) I am giving to her,” Jaime said.

“The best gift,” Janeth added.

Their daughter also was committed to a Catholic education.

“I knew where I was, was the right fit for me,” Jamie said. “When I got my confirmation, I felt as if a spirit came on me, and I felt free. And I think that’s why I knew it was right for me.”

However, when she started at St. Mary's, “it was really hard for us” financially, her father recalled.

Around third grade, the Arguellos qualified for financial assistance through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (better known as Step Up for Students), assistance they received until Jamie graduated from high school.

“When you want to give an education to your child, you’ll do anything,” Jaime said. “Step Up was a big help. Without that money, we couldn’t have made it.”

Their daughter thrived at St. Mary’s, fully engaged in her parish and school community. Jamie’s former preK-3 teacher, Suzie Pierre, encouraged Jamie to lector when she was 10 or 11 years old. Jamie also served as sacristan for school Masses; she was a part of the safety patrol and drama club; and she graduated as class salutatorian.

Meanwhile, Janeth’s mother was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“She used to assist with Jamie when she was an infant, but then she got sicker, so we had to take care of her,” Janeth said.

Jamie also decided to do her part. During her freshman year at Pace, she couldn't participate in the school volleyball try outs because she “made her choice to dedicate her time and assist in taking care of her grandmother,” Janeth said.

Jamie’s grandmother died in 2019. But Jamie received a hundredfold for helping her. At Pace, she excelled.

“Everything about my education, especially at Pace, was absolutely amazing,” Jamie said. “I loved it.”

Jamie was involved in a plethora of activities and held many leadership positions: softball co-captain, athletic trainer student aide, French Club vice president, participant in campus ministry, member of the Key Club and a student in the Sword and Shield honors program. She also was part of several honor societies, including the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (math), Rho Kappa (history), English and French.

This July, Jamie began attending the University of Florida, where she earned a full ride through a combination of Bright Futures, state grants, and a UF scholarship.

“I’m nervous and excited to go to college,” Jamie said a few weeks before the big move.

Although she received many admissions offers, Jamie decided on UF because she was “in love with my major” and the school atmosphere felt like a perfect fit.

She will be pursuing a Bachelor of Science in biotechnology, aspiring to enter the field of forensics. After graduation, she wants to go on to graduate school. She is reserving her Florida Prepaid money for a master’s degree and hopes to obtain a doctorate.

Meanwhile, both her parents work at the archdiocesan Pastoral Center: Janeth for 30 years, Jaime for 18. Janeth herself graduated from Florida International University with a bachelor’s in psychology in 2016.

Freelance writer Cristina Cabrera Jarro contributed to this article.