SHPE - Spring08 - (Page 34)

LOCAL HERO T By Leilani Rangel much, Flores turned this into motivation. “He would direct all his attention to the Anglo kids and trivialize my contributions in class,” he said. At that point, his parents’ “brute strength” training kicked into gear. “I have never been the smartest student, but I was always the hardest worker,” he continued. “I have a stubbornness that won’t allow me to give up easily when I run into barriers. I would spend extra time on the subject to make sure that I had one of the top grades in class.” Things began to change in high school when one of his math teachers asked him to be the founding president of the school’s MESA chapter. The program exposed him to careers in engineering and guided him on his way. It also provided field trips to local colleges, including California State University, Northridge, where, upon graduation, he was accepted into the mechanical engineering program and became part of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers student chapter. During his freshman year of college, Flores suffered his greatest challenge: the unexpected death of his mother. “When she passed away, a lot of my motivation went with her,” he said. Although he had made the dean’s list during his first year, his grades dropped, and it again required that sheer brute force he learned as a child to bring them up again. To supplement his scholarships, Flores worked to put himself through school. Because he didn’t have his citizenship until his junior year, he missed out on opportunities to build up his résumé with internships at local aerospace companies. Instead, he took jobs related to education, tutoring high school students and lower-level college courses. Upon completing college in 1989, Flores spent two and a half years in private industry (aerospace) before joining the U.S. Navy as an intern. He slowly worked his way up the ranks while earning an M.S. in mechanical engineering from CSUN (1994) and getting his professional engineer’s license (1995). In his current position for nearly two years, he supports the technical training of Navy officers and enlisted personnel through the SHPE R Spring 2008 The Education and Training of Ramon Flores A la Fuerza Bruta M athematics may not have been Ramon Flores’ favorite subject, but he had no other choice than to be good at it. From an early age, his parents instilled in him the value of higher education, not by word or deed, but by what he calls “brute force.” Every day, it was the same routine: He would finish his homework and present it to his parents. Even if it was perfect, their response was always the same, “Fine, do it again.” Such discipline served Flores well, fortifying him to overcome those who questioned his aptitude to learn and challenged his ability to achieve his dream of becoming an engineer. Today, the 41-year-old is the director of Knowledge Management & Information Technology at the Center for Seabees & Facilities Engineering with the U.S. Navy. Having recently earned a Ph.D. in educational technology and leadership from Pepperdine University, Flores has the satisfaction of knowing that he is living up to the high expectations set for him and his four siblings by his parents, Ramon and Lupe Flores. “Other family members would ask my parents how far we would go because they thought that high school would be good enough,” Flores recalled. “My parents would always say that we would go as far as we wanted to go. So I knew that at some point, a Ph.D. was in my future.” Flores’ educational ambition was rooted in humble beginnings. The Flores family emigrated from Mexico to California’s San Fernando Valley when Ramon Jr. was six years old. His parents were factory workers, and the family lived in poverty for most of his youth. For Flores, learning the English language Ramon Flores wasn’t as difficult as fitting into the American culture; he didn’t look like other students. He dressed differently. He spoke with an accent. He didn’t watch the same TV shows. In elementary school, he was often the target of bullies. When his eighth grade math teacher made Flores feel as if he wouldn’t amount to Flores’ community involvement extends to judging the Hueneme High School Science Fair. 34

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Spring08

SHPE - Spring08 Contents President’s Letter Browser Letters to the Editor Calendar of Events The Magic of Thinking BIG Five Steps to Easier Fundraising Designing Women ¡Viva Verde! The Education and Training of Ramon Flores Breakthroughs in Mobile Military Communications The Retention Doctor Success at School Begins at Home STAR Nominations Do Good Things Come to Those Who Wait? Programs & Services Regional Roundup Advertisers Index

SHPE - Spring08

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