Jimenez awarded top honor

By Michael Moeschler

Francisco Jimenez and his family crossed the boarder into California in search of a better life when he was only four. By the time he was six, he was in the fields picking grapes and strawberries. From these modest beginnings, he became a man dedicated to sharing his experiences and educating those around him.

Tonight, Jimenez will be one of four professors honored with the 2002 U.S. Professor of The Year Award. It is the only national honor for teaching excellence in higher education. Jimenez, who has written two award-winning books about his childhood experiences as a migrant worker, spoke to The Santa Clara about the close relationship with family and the university that influenced his life.

The Santa Clara: What was life like when you first came to California?

Francisco Jimenez: I came to this country when I was four years old. My father and mother and older brother and I crossed the boarder illegally because we didn't have the means to get papers. We left Mexico for mainly financial reasons. We lived in a migrant labor camp with tents and for the next nine years we basically moved from place to place following the crops.

TSC: How did the life as a migrant worker affect your education?

FJ: I started school not knowing a word of English, it was very traumatic. As I got older and continued going to school it was very sporadic because from the age of six, it was typical of all migrant families that the children work alongside the parents to help ends meet. I would miss the first two months of school because that was the harvest season. I would find myself way behind and that was discouraging.

TSC: How did you overcome these early educational obstacles?

FJ: Even though I had difficulty in school, what kept me going was that I wanted to learn. I enjoyed the environment. In the camps, we used to live in these labor tents with dirt floors, no electricity and no running water. The school environment was much nicer. We had indoor plumbing, electricity, heat, and toys. I learned early on that education was what gave me a sense of stability, of permanence. While we were moving from place to place, following the crops, I always yearned for a place to call home. In the absence of that, learning filled that void. Whatever I learned in school was mine to have and to hold and no matter how many times we moved, that went with me.

TSC: What did it feel like to come to Santa Clara as an undergraduate?

FJ: Scary. I was still insecure with the English language, so I worked the hardest in it. I managed to do well, but for the first few months I really missed home. We didn't have a phone so I couldn't communicate with my family. One of the things that I began to do when I felt very lonely was to write recollections of past experiences. What that did was it helped to alleviate the loneliness that I felt. It was a way of connecting with my parents. And the other thing it did was to remind me was that I shouldn't give up because the alternative wasn't that great. I also felt guilty because I was living in Kenna, which used to be the freshman dorm, and it was nice because I had my room, three meals a day, electricity and running water. It made me think about my parents really struggling, and my brother taking over my job as a janitor. So I considered leaving the university. But that's when the Jesuits came into my life.

TSC: Who was the first Jesuit that helped you at the university?

FJ: Father Warren, who is still in Nobili Hall. I was on the second floor of Kenna and he was the Jesuit on that floor. Luckily, he was one of the English professors, so when I was writing papers I would go to him and he would help me.

TSC: Where did life take you after Santa Clara?

FJ: I ended up being nominated for a Woodrow Wilson scholarship. It's geared for students who want to become college professors. I ended up getting the fellowship, and I went to Columbia University where I majored in Latin American Literature. Going to Columbia in New York City was a culture shock. I felt even worse than what I felt my freshman year at Santa Clara - this sense of loneliness. I didn't know anybody and the people weren't as polite and patient. So I continued writing.

TSC: At this time had you considered publishing any of your work?

FJ: I took a course on the literature of the Mexican Revolution from this Mexican professor who was a writer himself. Since he was my thesis advisor, I shared with him some of my writing and he suggested I publish it.

TSC: Were there any fears to publishing something that was clearly personal?

FJ: I never intended my writing to be published because it was so personal. But the more I thought about it, I realized that my experiences were really not unique at all. The experiences that I went through were experiences that were common to a lot of migrant families.

TSC: What brought you back to Santa Clara to teach?

FJ: My wife and I had two children and New York was not a place to raise a family. I was delighted to come back to Santa Clara because overall my four years here as a student were a positive experience. This was because some of the faculty and the Jesuits took a personal approach to my education. They were always very encouraging of my education. Also, the whole sense of social justice was something that I valued and was part of something that I felt in my heart.

TSC: How do you influence your students?

FJ: I try to prepare my students as well as I can in whatever subjects they major in to help them think critically and to develop a sense of awareness about world issues. Also, to value diversity and to accept the diverse points of view and diverse cultures that are represented in our cultures and to be respect ful and appreciative of them.

TSC: Do you see the world living up to those values?

FJ: One of the most important issues facing our society is what I call "multicultural literacy." That is the need for all of us to better understand the experiences of the African-Americans and other immigrant groups who have contributed greatly to the development of our society and nation. My feeling is that it's important for us to live in a society that is going to be harmonious in that we need to learn about each others' contributions because the contributions that each group has made to our society is part of the American society as a whole. I feel that if we are to understand who we are as a nation and the essence of who we are as a community then we need to learn about the different experiences that each group has made to our society. By doing so we have learned more about ourselves and our role in society.

TSC: What do you learn from your students?

FJ: In teaching I learn more from my students than I learn from me, so that is a privilege. I think of teaching as a vocation rather than a job. The fact that I learn from my students and that they give me the opportunity to develop their God-given talents is a gift for me. This is a reward that belongs to them.

TSC: Where do you gain inspiration in your life?

FJ: I would say that the inspiration for my education came from my teachers. The value of hope, of not giving up and of faith comes from my mother. The value of hard work and determination comes from my father. My father used to say that every human being is entitled to the same respect as any other human being regardless of socio-economic background and regardless of their job. The precedent is that we should respect a farm worker the same way we respect the president because they are both human beings and as human beings they have dignity.

TSC: Why do you write?

FJ: I write because I want to document the experiences of many families of the past and the present and to record those experiences that are part of the American experience. I write to pay tribute to my family and teachers. And to point out that the success of any child or young adult depends as much on that child's hard work, initiative and God-given talent as it does in the loving and compassionate people who commit themselves in making a difference to that child.