SHREVEPORT – When Calinda Cantu glances at her planner, she’s greeted with blocks of time for her classes, her family, her accounting position, and her photography among other areas representing her busy life.
But six years ago, her planner was dominated by something totally different.
Cantu was trapped in an abusive relationship, and she constructed a plan to change her life in her planner.
“It wasn’t just one event, but different things built up,” Cantu explains about making the decision to leave with her two children. “I wrote down my plan – this is what I was going to do.
“Even when it was hard – no this was the plan that I decided, and I’m going to do it.”
The LSUS graduate student received the Petrina Gay-Jenkins Memorial Scholarship this past month, named for the energetic domestic violence advocate in the Shreveport community who passed away in 2022.
“When I learned about who Petrina was and what she meant to this community, I was blown away,” Cantu said. “She was a huge advocate for all types of domestic violence awareness – physical, mental and emotional.
“She got out there and advocated for legislation while helping people who were going through those situations.”
Education was the centerpiece of Cantu’s plan, and she earned degrees from Delgado Community College and LSU-Alexandria before pursuing her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at LSUS
“Sometimes I’d take just one class per semester, but step-by-step, I’d keep going,” Cantu said. “I wanted to get a good job because you’re in this mindset of being a mom and paying the mortgage.
“I wanted to still make time to better myself through all this – it just takes perseverance.”
The single mother from Ponchatoula used her education to land an accountant position at MECO, a water treatment and purification manufacturer on the Northshore.
“As I’m writing the essay for the scholarship, I look back and always thought that (being in an abusive relationship) would never happen to me,” Cantu said. “I was in a very dark place, and I suffered a lot.
“However, when I really started looking at the future of my family and my children, I had to think about what I wanted for them and for me. It’s easy to sit there and be a victim of what you’ve been through, but I wanted to change it.”
Aside from education, Cantu credits support from various community groups.
“I sought therapy and positive community groups like church,” Cantu said. “It’s been a day-by-day process.”
Cantu is on pace to graduate with her MBA this December with the goal of furthering her photography and digital creator business (Images by Calinda) and teaching business classes at a community college.
Her children, a 21-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, are her biggest supporters.
“I think they are amazed by this journey, and I do think they admire me for going back to school,” Cantu said. “I’ve met young girls in abusive situations, and I’ve been able to help them with their self-esteem by offering encouraging words.
“My life’s motto is ‘Darkness does not last.’ Even though somebody may be in that situation, we realize that most times, there is a future. If you would have told me five years ago that I’d be where I’m at, I would have told you that this was unreachable.”
