In this oral history, Adriana Martinez (’93, BA International Relations) speaks about her path from the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles to Stanford and her experiences as an undergraduate during the 1990s. She also offers advice to current and future Latino students. An actively involved Stanford student, Martinez speaks about some of the groups in which she participated, including Barrio Assistance, Project Motivation, SPOON (Stanford Project on Hunger), MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán), the Latino Students Association, novice crew, and Ballet Folklórico. She describes the activities of Expresión, a [brief description] group that she cofounded, and mentions that she was the first undergraduate student to serve on El Guiding Concilio of El Centro Chicano. She describes the impact of her studies overseas in Italy and Mexico City as well as the encouragement from her many mentors to engage in writing, leading her to present a paper on the intersections of religion and self-identity as a Latina to the NACCS (National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies). After Stanford, Martinez participated in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, worked for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard on Capitol Hill, and held a variety of jobs in different sectors, including starting a government relations and public affairs company in 2007. She describes the effective Grants Information Program that she started for Roybal-Allard, which provided information on federal grants and contracts to constituents, and talks about starting a traditional Mexican Folklórico program and company in Washington DC.

Anna Fisher-Rivera (1974 BA Spanish) was a part of the second Stanford class to have at least seventy-five Latino students. In this oral history, she recalls her first memories of Stanford and living in the supportive community of Roble Hall. During her time as an undergraduate student, Fisher-Rivera was deeply involved in the Latinx community as a member of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán) and Ballet Folklórico. She mentions her experiences with Stanford in Mexico City and working at the Bing Nursery School, noting how both opportunities allowed her to gain confidence in her abilities. She also recounts the pride she felt for her community at the Chicano graduation reception and dancing Ballet Folklórico in front of her future in-laws. Fisher-Rivera goes on to remark on how Stanford taught her to keep in mind the nation’s changing student populations throughout her teaching career. Anna Fisher-Rivera later earned both her master’s and PhD in education from the University of Arizona. She went on to become both a teacher and administrator with her first job being in the Tucson Unified School District.

Araceli Velasquez graduated from Stanford in 1999 with a BA in biological sciences and a minor in Spanish. In this oral history, she briefly describes her family history and how being admitted to a GATE school in the third grade impacted the rest of her life. Velasquez mentions her participation in numerous student organizations like Ballet Folklórico, Mariachi Cardenal, CHE (Chicanos in Health Education), SSCLES (Stanford Society of Chicano and Latino Engineers and Scientists), and Barrio Assistance. As a premed student, she also explains how she fought to establish a Spanish class for those in her field. Velasquez provides some insight into Stanford’s Latinx community at the time and what it meant to her and her family to earn a college degree. She concludes by talking about what drove her to earn an MBA at Fresno State and her experience as a young single mom.

In this oral history, Christine Sierra (PhD Political Science, 1983) speaks about her experience as a graduate student at Stanford and her career in academia. Sierra recalls both the opportunities and obstacles she faced, especially her difficulty in crafting a dissertation in the unexplored field of Mexican American politics. Sierra also talks about her immersion in the Latinx community and Chicano activism, including marching with the United Farm Workers and rallying with Miriam Cherry--a nun whose social justice ministry was under attack. Sierra acknowledges the mentorship of Albert Camarillo, Heinz Elau, and others, and she mentions her contributions to the Chicano studies collections at Stanford, including gathering files for the archives from Manuel Ruiz, Jr. and CASA (Centro de Acción Social Autónomo). She concludes by speaking about her recent work on diversity and elected officials and advises current Latino students to “find each other.”

Jack LeCuyer describes how the White House Fellows Foundation and Association has changed over the years and his work as executive director from 1996 to 1999 and provides his impressions of John W. Gardner as a leader. Of special note is LeCuyer’s description of an important 1999 meeting at which Gardner urged him to ensure the fellows worked to develop a community of mutual support and mentorship. Other topics include LeCuyer’s description of his youth in Greeley, Colorado; his education at Tufts University and West Point, his military service, and his participation in the Olmstead Scholarship Program, including time spent in Florence, Italy.