Fig. 1: Francisco Jiménez.
The 1960s were a decade when SCU began to break away from its homogenous, upper-middle class white male student body. Francisco Jiménez – a writer, academic administrator, and professor at SCU – was one of the original first generation Mexican students to attend Santa Clara. When he was a Spanish and History major at SCU in the early 1960s, the vast majority of students attending Santa Clara had a family history of college education. Jiménez was a first generation, scholarship-funded college student who worked three jobs to support his family while in school. In his books, Jiménez gives a voice to the increasing number of immigrant and first-generation college students, while also voicing the issues of migrant agricultural workers and their families that face political and practical difficulties of immigration.
Fig. 2: One of Jiménez’s books, Senderos Fronterizos (Breaking Through) is about his childhood and adolescence as an alienated immigrant to California who ultimately becomes the first in his family to attend college.
Jimenez has written a few books, three of which are autobiographical. They illustrate Jiménez’s life from his early childhood up through his high school years as a member of an immigrant Mexican family in the United States. The Circuit, Breaking Through, and Reaching Out discuss the hardships and rewards of growing up impoverished, unlawfully immigrating, being deported, enduring harsh work conditions at a young age, and succeeding in school against the odds of learning English and racism.
Additional Information:
Francisco Jiménez’s Homepage: a comprehensive source for Jiménez’s awards, curriculum vitae, interviews, and more.
Undocumented Immigrants at SCU: this news article shows how SCU’s Jesuit philosophy is currently helping students get an SCU education. These students would otherwise be unable to afford tuition.