LYNN — Maria Luz Tizol came to Lynn from Puerto Rico in 1957, just about to turn 22, and resolutely made her way in her new community as best as she could.
Wednesday, 62½ years later, Tizol was recognized with a citation from state Sen. Brendan Crighton and the City of Lynn for her advocacy for those who migrate here as part of International Migration Day.
“It isn’t easy, believe me,” said Tizol, who is now 84. “It wasn’t easy for me, even though I was an American citizen.
“It’s not that easy to get adjusted,” she said. “I came here in the summertime, when the sun was bright and warm. But then came the cold weather, and I’d have to walk distances to the bus stop so I could get to work, because I didn’t have a car.”
Over time, Tizol ultimately brought that car, plus a house, and then another house (selling the first one), and she still feels she has something offer people who migrate to Lynn.
“You have to start all over,” she said. “I suffered a lot when I came here. I left friends and family behind.
“But in the end, you get adjusted. You make friends. You learn to speak the language a little bit. Hopefully, you find a job, so you can make some money, and buy the things you want. But material things aren’t the only things either.”
International Migrants Day is set aside by the United Nations to recognize the estimated 272 million migrants who are members of society today — and how they have become part of the fabric of the community, according to a release from Crighton’s office.
Tizol “has been a true demonstration of what it means to migrate,” Crighton’s office said. “(She) has dedicated her life to service, without receiving any kind of financial or lucrative compensation. She always served her community from the bottom of her heart, knowing that she was working towards a cause, not a recognition.”
Tizol began her community work during the 1970s, as part of the first Hispanic American organization.
“In the ’70s, The Hispanic Community started growing. People were really starting to come here to live.
“Some friends called me because they were trying to form an association and also wanted to provide providence to help the Hispanic community.”
That organization helped the formation of the Community Cultural Minority Center on Union Street, she said.
Her participation in civic affairs slowed down a bit while her sons, Michael and Fernando Reyes, were young. But once they were grown, Tizol began getting more and more involved. She served two terms on the board of the Lynn Economic Opportunity as a representative of the Hispanic community. She became active in St. Joseph’s parish. She served on a youth foundation.
“I got calls from everywhere,” she said. “Sometimes I said ‘yes,’ and sometimes I said ‘no.'”
One of the things she said “yes” to was the Lynn Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
“I just felt there was a great need for education in the Spanish community,” she said.
She was an example of her own philosophy. Though she started working for $1 an hour at a shoe factory, she eventually became a school teacher for 14 years.
Today, the Lynn Hispanic Scholarship Fund continues to give grants to students in Lynn who demonstrate a keen sense of learning, achievement, and who have the desire to further their educations but need support to do it,
“I am very happy to have been able to help this community,” she said. “I love Lynn. I’m proud to have lived in Lynn for 62½ years. Lynn is a city of opportunities. Not a city of sin, like they say.
“You always have dreams. And you want to fulfill those dreams. Sometimes they don’t work out the way you want, but you have to work to become better established.”
And she has something to say for people who continue to classify people in such ways as to discriminate against them.
“They say there are too many immigrants,” she said. “Too many Hispanics. Too many blacks. Too many this. Too many that. We are all human beings.”
