Querer es Poder

Motivational photo exhibit honors 50 Latino alumni as part of CSUF's golden year celebration

Feb. 4, 2008

by Mimi Ko Cruz

Motivating young people to aspire for a college education is the aim of “Querer es Poder: 50 Examples,” a photo exhibit of 50 of Cal State Fullerton’s successful Latino alumni. It is part of Cal State Fullerton’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Querer es poder is Spanish for “if you have the desire, you can achieve.” In recognition of its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation, the university’s photo exhibit features 50 alumni, who exemplify the querer es poder theme. Campus administrators, deans, faculty and staff nominated these alums and a 50th Anniversary committee selected them.

The traveling exhibit opens March 3 at Santa Ana City Hall, where it will remain through March 21. The public is welcome to view the photos during City Hall hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Irvine City Hall will display the exhibit in April and it will be in Fullerton in May.

Cal State Fullerton was named an HSI in 2004. The designation is given by the U.S. Department of Education to nonprofit institutions with at least a 25 percent Latino student population, and half of those students must be at or below the poverty level. As an HSI, CSUF is eligible to apply for federal Title V Program grants, and has received $1.8 million thus far in grants that augment numerous programs for student success.

Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education ranks CSUF second in California and sixth in the nation in its listing of the top 100 colleges and universities awarding bachelor’s degrees to Latinos and Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranks the university seventh in the nation in terms of baccalaureate degrees awarded to minority students.

The exhibit’s photographer, Ed Carreón, is one of the 50 subjects. The others are: Santa Ana City Councilwoman Claudia C. Alvarez; Mt. San Antonio Community College District Board President Manuel Baca; Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante; Fulbright Scholar Andrea C. Cano; Sen. Lou Correa; John Cruz, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appointments secretary; restaurateur Rosalina Davis; Diana M. de la Teja Torres, a pricing specialist at Boeing; David De Leon, a manager at John Wayne Airport; author Gloria DeLaTorre-Wycoff; John Echeveste, a partner in the Valencia, Perez and Echeveste Public Relations firm; Moreno Valley City Manager Robert G. Gutierrez; school teacher David A. Hernandez; Assemblyman Ed Hernandez; John C. Hernandez, Santiago Canyon College vice president of student services; Long Beach City Clerk Larry G. Herrera; Lawrence R. Labrado, a Rancho Santiago Community College District trustee; Carlos Leija, chief development officer for Orangewood Children’s Foundation; filmmaker Alejandro P. Lopez; M. Alexander Lopez, senior territory manager at Allergan, Inc.; Maria Sanchez Macias, retired teacher and mother of Congresswomen Linda and Loretta Sanchez; E. Michael Madrid, Chapman University’s education director; Angela Mannen, an El Camino College anthropology professor; Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez; dentist Daniel Mendoza; Henry Mendoza, managing partner of Mendoza, Berger & Company; radio and television sports commentator José Mota; engineer Robert Navarro; Fernando D. Ortiz, chair of Santa Ana College’s Ethnic Studies Department; Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido; Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk; attorney Ralph C. Quiroz; engineer Imelda Ramirez; Manuel J. Ramirez, president of Ramirez International; Los Angeles Times writer H.G. Reza; Philip C. Rodriguez, director of student affairs at Cerritos College; forensic interviewer Adriana Patricia SanRoman; Lucy Santana, executive director of Girls, Inc.; engineer Judith Segura; Genevieve Barrios Southgate, assistant director of education at Bowers Museum; Lilia Margarita Tanakeyowma, Santa Ana College’s dean of student affairs; social worker Rocio Valencia; Francisco J. Valle, president of Valle Consulting; Vikki Vargas, Orange County bureau chief for NBC/4-TV; artist Emigdio Vasquez; Juan Vázquez, president of Santiago Canyon College; Yesenia Velez, director of diversity for Orange County United Way; graduate student Sharone Carmona Williams; and Edgar Zazueta, legislative advocate for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

For more information about Querer es Poder: 50 Examples, click here.

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