“Our work is just beginning” says Ernesto and Socorro Vasquez, a couple working to help Latino students attend college.
High school sweethearts Ernesto and Socorro Vasquez attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, when attendance by Latino college students was low. Determined to succeed, they lived on loans, grants and even food stamps, experiencing the privations of students with a fervent desire for higher education but lacking the necessary financial means.
Even then, they began to build into their lives a commitment to philanthropy that would result in their passionate dedication to the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund (HEEF). They started by doggedly recruiting other Latino students to their school, believing that higher education was essential.
“The ‘60s awakened us,” says Ernesto of his college recruitment days. “We felt the need to help create a level playing field for Latino students. Even today, we feel that the field is not level. It is still a major accomplishment for a child to go to college from the Hispanic community.”
As active donors and supporters of HEEF, Ernesto and Socorro have modeled philanthropy to their children, Miguel and Monica, who participate in HEEF events and with other charities, and are also college graduates. Socorro, who spent many hours involved in their schools as a volunteer, has set an example for her children by not only espousing her values but by putting them into action.
Ernesto says he and Socorro lived for 15 years in Santa Ana and were able to demonstrate to their children that “there was a lot to do. As we drove them to school, they saw wealth, and they also saw poverty. They saw the needs.”
Says Socorro: “The Orange County community can’t even imagine how many students apply for HEEF scholarships and must be turned away, how resourceful and qualified the applicants are. You see the desire and the motivation, and you want to give them all scholarships.”
“Our parents simply didn’t have the resources to help us,” Ernesto remembers. “But they ingrained in us the importance of getting educated as a means to succeed. Today, kids in the barrios can’t tangibly see how education breaks down barriers. We can help them see that by working hard, there is opportunity.”
Socorro agrees. “Growing up, I was always surrounded by people in need who helped each other. I realized how much even a little bit of help can mean.”
The couple created a HEEF sub-fund for scholarships in Ernesto’s profession of architecture and engineering to encourage Hispanic students to go into those technical fields.
“The students are so grateful,” Socorro says. “It is our way of helping others overcome some of the obstacles they face. Our work is just beginning.”
