No Grad Student Left Behind: The Personal is Political

Men crossing the finish line at the Willie Williams Classic. My students, Mark and LaTisha are on the UA team. You have no idea how hard these student athletes work. They are under tremendous pressure keep up good grades while putting in untold hours of training and competition. They are up early every day, so UA is not a "party" campus for them. They take their athletics and scholarship seriously. They often speak of their future plans and careers. I am so proud of them! Both LaTisha and Mark are doing well in my English 102 class at the U of A. Go Wildcats! See link on lower right side of this page for more photos.

My parents had to quit school before the age of 13. My eldest brother was the first of my siblings to graduate from high school. Now, I am in graduate school. My parents and my brother were highly intelligent people who did not have the same educational opportunities as I have had. I am not smarter than they were; I was just lucky enough to have been born after World War II. The post-war years were a time when Mexican Americans vets and others were able to take advantage of the G.I. Bill (college and job benefits and housing). In addition, openly blantant racist behaviors was less tolerated by those, like my cousins. who had gone to war to defend freedom.

Born Ricardo Steven Valenzuela, born 1941 and died 1959, he was probably the first Mexican American rock and roll star. His professional career lasted only eight months. Ted Quillin (a.k.a. "TQ") is a hall of fame radio DJ who is alive and well and living in Las Vegas.

Kathryn (Mexican American), Vivette (Jamaica), Katia (Brazil) Sunrise over Pacific ocean, Santa Barbara Our conference group Campus lagoon

Wildflowers on the campus of the U of Arizona This is one of the best times of the year in Southern Arizona because of how the desert blooms and the daily baseball spring training games. Wish you were here.

Just a thought: After paying $2.99 a pound for tomatoes in Tucson, Arizona yesterday, I paid the same amount for a gallon of gas. How are these prices related to each other? The higher the cost of fuel, the higher the price of tomatoes. Store bought tomatoes are a luxury for the working poor. I treated myself to these beautiful tomatoes even though they were so expensive. Life is hard and sometimes, you just have to have something you cannot really afford.