HOUSTON--“I came on a field trip from my school to the United States, but I knew I was not going back to Guatemala”, confessed Flor Miramontes about her arrival to the United States.

Her story began when she was a child in Guatemala dreaming of a better life for herself. She had heard of the many ways people crossed the border into the “land of dreams” but she was too young to make the long journey, so she waited.

She turned 14 and felt it was time to leave the extreme poverty and search for a better life.

It was in that school field trip when she says her life began. She took the journey by bus through Mexico and finally to Houston. With nothing but $60 in her pocket, Flor was scared, but she knew she had to pursue her lifelong dream. “When everyone was visiting Houston, I discretely walked away from the group and began my odyssey”. “I tried to find work, but being illegal closed a lot of doors for me”, she admitted with a slight smile on her face.

After sleeping on the streets and finding shelters for food, Flor met a handsome but much older Hispanic man “Mario” at a restaurant. He was in this country with legal residency and when he laid eyes on Flor he was instantly attracted to the thin curly haired teenager. Flor believed this man was put in her path to save her so they immediately got married and started a family. At 14 and in a new country, she felt content, at least for the time being, but in the back of her heart she felt she was here to do a lot more with her life.

Mario became an alcoholic almost right after they got married. “I was taught to deal with it and keep my family together, so I didn’t say anything to him, I didn’t want him to get upset with me”, she remembers. Two years later, his alcoholism led to spousal abuse. “I was too afraid to leave, and again I tried to make my marriage work”.

Two years and two beautiful little girls later Mario packed his belongings and left. Flor didn’t know what to do with her life; she was scared, and fell into a depression. It was then that she started wondering what she could do with her life. She remembers having helped her husband with the air-conditioning installation jobs and thought she could find a career doing that. When she was about to enroll in school a few months later, Mario returned home and made promises that Flor believed strongly he would keep, so she welcomed him back and again put her own life aside.

A year later those promises had not been kept and his drinking got even worse… It was then that Flor decided to kick him out of the house and into his lover’s apartment. Without thinking twice, the next day, she enrolled in Houston Community College Southwest for their bilingual Air Conditioning classes.

She worked during the day doing cleaning at construction sites, and at night rushed to school for a four hour course. Exhausted and feeling lonely, Flor remembers her tiring mornings and her little quality time left for her daughters. She struggled and continued until she finished the course.

She felt like she could take on the world now, the air conditioning world that is. With the little money she saved up, she started her own business. She bought and outfitted two vans and named them Flor I and Flor II. She rents out Flor II, and uses Flor I to do her own jobs.
She can now install and repair air conditioners for homes and small businesses. Even though her ex-husband has tried to come back into her life, Flor has remained strong and knows she’s better off without the headaches.

“I knew that God had something special for me, I didn’t want to be depressed anymore I wanted to move on and finally be happy” she sighs.

Now, at the age of 28, Flor owns her own air-conditioning business, a farm, three vehicles, and has two daughters Leslie and Sally. She’s proud and quick to tell people she works in a male-dominated business.

“My proudest moment now is when construction workers or managers ask me for my boss, and I can respond, “I am my boss”, she says with her head held high. “My daughters have named me the A/C girl and now the men I come across at job sites know me as the A/C girl, and look at me with admiration” she says with a big smile.