My Story

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MI HISTORIA

1983

Proud of My Roots / Orgulloso de Mis Raices

I am the proud son of Mexican immigrants. My father is the son of farmworkers, who for generations made a living through the fields of Michoacan. There is a saying among he and his brothers, "Lo que gana uno aqui, es un mes en Mexico. What one earns here, is a month in Mexico."

Seeking better job opportunities, he came to this country in 1983, just at the time this city become incorporated.

His brothers would soon join him.

Photo of My Father with His Siblings and Abuelo - JPG.jpg

Photo: My father (far right), posing here with his father, Antonio, (second from right), and his three siblings, Conseulo, Manuel, Francisco, and Ignacio (bottom).

By the Community, For the Community

I was born and raised in the Gardens District of East Palo Alto. I am a proud former student of the Ravenswood school system. I am from and for this community.

Coming from a low-income family, I understand the struggles that EPA’s underrepresented population face with unemployment and lack of affordable housing.

Photo: My strong Mother, Luisa Mendez, is nudging me to play with the other kids at Edison Brentwood Academy.

Echandole Ganas Desde El Principio // Giving it My All Since the Beginning

MAY 2016

My first day as a Duke student, I had no friends or family on the East Coast. The only things that accompanied me to the Raleigh-Durham airport were the brochures I picked up near baggage claim, and my two suitcases.

When I arrived, I saw mothers kissing their children, as hired movers carried their boxes safely inside. Making my way to the laundry room, I learned that my student account had been frozen.

I learned from the bursar office that I started off $3,000 in debt. I called my Mother, and cried, “I don’t know if I can do this.” She comforted me and told me to remember my roots.

Photo: Posing with my Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity brother, Ronald Rojas, after my Duke graduation ceremony.