Everyone has a story to tell..,

An excerpt from my Leadership Autobiography.

I was born to Mexican immigrants in Wasco, CA in 1974. My earliest memory of my life is from around the age of three. I remember sitting in a high chair in a small, dingy kitchen eating breakfast with my father and five-year-old sister. My mom was standing over the stove making homemade tortillas and handing them to my father freshly off the hot comal, a flat-iron grill used mainly in Latin America to warm up tortillas and other food. 

Reflecting on this image brings feelings of sadness and despair, because the little girl sitting in the high chair didn’t know the crucibles she would confront in life. Although, she would enjoy her moments of triumph, she would battle an immense number of obstacles and endure pain, agony, fear, and at times, defeat. My earliest memory sets the stage for my life journey and the various small journeys upon which I’ve embarked. These same small journeys, trials and triumphs, have molded me to become the person I am today. My inner soul, my essence, and my values derive from these small journeys.

 I was fortunate to have experienced a positive childhood and adolescence. My parents owned a home. My siblings and I grew up with both parents. My father, a farm laborer, was the sole provider. My mother, due to a disability, couldn’t work and stayed home. The town, McFarland, had a population of 7,000.  My father ensured we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our backs. In my family, education was considered a privilege and not expected. Although my parents wanted the best for us, their aspirations were for us were to be honest, kind to others, and good citizens. 

My first small journey I can recall is following through to attend college. As a high school student, I did well academically and laid low under the radar. I challenged myself to do well academically so that I could play sports (e.g., volleyball, basketball, tennis). There was no other motivation to do well in school except for extrinsic motivations.  These motivations and discipline paved the road to college.

During my senior year, Marco de la Garza, a CSU, Northridge recruiter, gave a college presentation. I was fascinated with how he spoke about his college experience, college life, and the liberties and responsibilities of going to college. This was my first exposure to higher education. 

As he spoke energetically about his experience, I knew I wanted something different for my life, beyond what I and my family had experienced. I respected the work my father did, but as I labored in the fields and packing sheds, something inside me told me I didn’t want this life for myself. 

Two months earlier, during the summer months, as I packed apples in a fruit shed, a rancher came up to me and stood two inches from my face and began to scream and yell at me, saying how I was “mishandling his apples.” I was deeply humiliated and embarrassed. The whole plant stopped to watch the rancher berate me as I stood frozen and scared with tears running down my face. I thought I would lose my job but only before dying of humiliation. 

The floor manager removed the rancher from the shed, but the damage was done. As I cleaned myself up in the bathroom, I remember telling myself, “What he did was not right. People need to be respected.” As I got home, I shamefully told my father of the incident. He was so supportive and asked me if I wanted to file a formal complaint.  I agreed and he went with me for support.  As I filled out the paperwork at the company office, I remember thinking, “There is more to this world than just this.” 

I’d heard of many stories of laborers being humiliated and embarrassed. In that instance, I knew this wasn’t the life I wanted to live and I vowed to never put myself in a similar situation, yet alone humiliate another human being.

Marco de la Garza’s words and experiences about the possibility of attending college made an unattainable dream feel like a reachable goal. I knew I wanted something better for myself and the only way to accomplish it was to get a college education. After his presentation, I told myself, “I will attend college.” Marco de la Garza was instrumental in getting me out of a town where dreams are merely dreams. I knew there was something else out there for me, and I was determined to find it.  

PEACE, LOVE, and GOD BLESS!