2006 UC Davis Fall Convocation

Essay: Education Is a Center of Hope

By Francisco C. Rodriguez
President of Cosumnes River College and UC Davis alumnus

There is no shame in struggle. I remain hopeful.

These are two statements that come to mind when reflecting upon my own personal calling to make a difference.

In my case, as a first-generation immigrant, English-language learner from a working class family, access to higher education and the opportunity that followed was the door to personal discovery and professional exploration, and to renewed hope that was counter to the generations of poverty and isolation that my family and my ancestors had endured, unselfishly, all for the opt chance that the next generation would be better off than the one before.

My parents came to this country with little formal education, yet they held onto the dreams and aspirations of their children with a firm grip. At an early age, this became very apparent to me as I observed and listened, sometimes with dismay, but more often with amazement and joy, the conversations that took place around the kitchen table of my childhood home in San Francisco.

It was an ordinary kitchen table, with six chairs, but it holds a special significance to me for a variety of reasons. For this was the table that our family gathered to eat my mother’s savory dishes, to learn of local happenings and world events, and to hear the stories of struggle and of resilience that my family or my extended family was undergoing in adjusting to life in this country.

Tireless work ethic

I often looked over to my parents and saw the vestiges of hard work and a tireless work ethic exemplified: their dark, tired eyes; my father’s bronze, thick hands compliments of the cannery where he worked for more than 30 years; my mother’s swollen ankles, a constant reminder of her work in an industrial laundromat where she stood all day and washed and pressed the linens of our city’s best restaurants.

The kitchen table was also the place that I learned of and became exposed to the hurtful themes and practice of bias, discrimination and prejudice. And because there was no desk and lamp at our home, the kitchen table was also the place where we all did our homework and school projects – it is the place that I discovered my zeal for learning and my passion for public service.

I consider myself fortunate to now have been working in California higher education for 22 years – with the first dozen foundational years at UC Davis. I have always focused on the work, irrespective of title or the perceived prestige associated with it, and let the importance of the work itself guide me. And I have tried – not always successfully - not to confuse who I am with what I do, no matter how significant a role I have played.

Along the way, I have learned to be resilient, become patient with ambiguity, and to hold true to my principles and follow my moral convictions. I discovered that the more I helped others achieve their goals, the more fulfillment and success I had in achieving my own.

Obliged to provide access

Yes, access and opportunity are the reasons that I am here today in the capacity that I am in with the responsibility – and I would say obligation – in concert with all of you, my higher education colleagues, to provide access and opportunity for others.

I believe that it is our collective responsibility to purposefully serve our higher education community and, at the same time, to challenge it. As educators, we have perhaps the best opportunity to eradicate and overcome social and racial injustice, and to empower the least educated and poorest in our communities.

It is not just politically expedient or fiscally prudent to reach out and bring students in, especially those who have been historically underserved and underrepresented, it is simply and fundamentally the right thing to do for the future sustainability of our society that will go a long ways towards mitigating the widening educational achievement gaps.

For people like me, it is easy to see why higher education in general and community colleges in particular are such wonderful places to work.

Intertwining craft with personal values

It is here where we can intertwine our professional craft as educators with our personal values.

At the community colleges, we are proud of and reaffirm our values as open access institutions whose hallmarks of affordability, accessibility, and outstanding quality are wrapped around an ethos of care and commitment – a commitment, in my view, to the goals of academic excellence, public service, and diversity unparalleled in any segment of higher education.

Together, our colleges and universities represent not only a better path for the future, but for so many families we represent centers of hope…of possibility…of opportunity.

I have experienced and greatly benefited from the positive influence of a higher education, and I can proudly say that it all began here at UC Davis.

I have been blessed with living a life of service, all beginning with the lessons learned around a kitchen table, and through it all, I remain hopeful that the work we do makes a difference in the lives of others.

Last updated Oct. 2, 2006

Questions or comments? Contact Susanne Rockwell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-2542