Alumni Spotlight: Darlene Jasso Mendoza '15
By Krystal Cantu-Cuate
Do you believe in coincidence? Was it pure chance, or was it always meant to happen? Life is full of people, moments and experiences that make us wonder. Are we here because of luck—or because a greater plan was set in motion long before we knew it?
Darlene Jasso Mendoza ’15 first set foot on the Broadway campus during her senior year of high school. The private Catholic institution immediately captured her attention—the Mission, intimate class sizes, and stunning grounds drew her in. Those qualities ultimately led Mendoza to choose UIW for her college journey.
In 2013, Mendoza was serving as a campus minister and leading a retreat for all incoming international students. As introductions began, her attention was quickly drawn to Edwin, an exchange student from Guatemala. When Edwin shared that he was a talk show host—Mendoza’s dream as a communication arts student—she couldn’t help but chime in, “I just went to Belize!” Edwin smiled and replied, “Cool..but I’m from Guatemala.”
What began as a lighthearted moment soon turned into something much more. Not long after that first interaction, Mendoza and Edwin began dating and imagining a future together—one where they would one day launch a nonprofit to host student service trips and carry forward the UIW Mission. Little did they know their shared dream was waiting just ahead.
In 2015 Mendoza graduated with a BA in Communication Arts, with a concentration in journalism, and in 2016 Mendoza and Edwin said, “I do.” Soon after the wedding, both Medoza and her husband moved to Guatemala. Mendoza was eager to learn Spanish and become familiar with her husband’s culture. After telling her parents their move would only last a year, the Mendozas’ year quickly turned into six. Working with children as English teachers at a nonprofit in Guatemala City that hosted students from all over the country on scholarship, the Mendozas realized that their experiences were too beautiful to give up.
In 2007, Edwin Mendoza Escoto (Mendoza’s father-in-law) founded an organization called Little Angels of Mary to support children with special needs in Guatemala, but due to limited funding, it closed after one year. Escoto passed in 2020 due to COVID, yet his legacy lives on as Mendoza and Edwin revived Little Angels of Mary in 2022. Nestled in a rural village in Santa Apolonia, Guatemala, the nonprofit relaunched with a nutrition program serving 21 mothers and their children, and in 2023, the Mendozas expanded their efforts by opening a preschool program to provide even more children with early childhood education and daily nutritious meals.
Today, Little Angels of Mary operates two preschools that provide education and daily nutritious meals in an area where 69% of children suffer from malnutrition and where preschool education is virtually non-existent. Although miles away, UIW has never been far from Little Angels of Mary. The Mendozas receive continued support from beloved UIW community member Sr. Martha Ann Kirk, a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word and a leader in the International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Committee, who has helped organize solidarity trips for students, alumni, faculty and staff to share their expertise with the little angels in Guatemala. With the next solidarity trip scheduled for May 2026, the Mendozas encourage you to visit their website (www.littleangelsofmary.org) and consider making the journey.