[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12221-S12222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNITION OF MS. VERONICA CALVILLO

 Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I speak today in recognition of a 
young woman from my home state of Washington, Ms. Veronica Calvillo. 
Ms. Calvillo, a sophomore at Seattle University, is the recipient of a 
scholarship from the Hispanic College Fund. While I did not have the 
good fortune of attending the recent awards dinner at which Ms. 
Calvillo spoke, I have heard from many who did attend that she made a 
remarkable impression. After reading the remarks she made at that 
dinner, I can certainly understand why. Through her remarks, Ms. 
Calvillo shows herself to be an intelligent, mature and centered young 
woman. Ms. Calvillo and her family are truly an example of what is best 
about America. I ask that Ms. Calvillo's remarks be printed in the 
Congressional Record.
  The remarks follow.

[[Page S12222]]

                      Remarks by Veronica Calvillo

       [Veronica Calvillo is a sophomore majoring in business and 
     engineering at Seattle University]
       Good Evening, I am very honored to have been selected as a 
     scholarship recipient by the Hispanic College Fund. I am 
     especially pleased to have been asked to speak on behalf of 
     this year's scholarship recipients.
       I wish to begin by thanking American Airlines for making it 
     possible for ten of us to travel from various parts of the 
     country to be here tonight. I also wish to express my 
     gratitude and appreciation to all the individuals and 
     companies, in particular Eddie Bauer, for making our 
     scholarships possible. This support will enable me and the 
     other recipients to begin or continue our pursuit of a higher 
     education.
       This evening, I would like to share with you my story, a 
     little piece of history about who I am and why it means so 
     much to me that I am here standing on this podium as a 
     scholarship recipient. The best place for me to begin is by 
     telling you what I do almost every weekend.
       Every weekend when I drive to the city where I grew up, I 
     feel like the most privileged Hispanic on the planet. Why do 
     I feel this way? Well, every weekend I am able to witness two 
     individuals that optimize Hispanic Business Leadership and I 
     am able to learn from them firsthand. You are probably 
     wondering who these people are. The two Hispanic leaders have 
     no education, not even elementary education, and they live in 
     a low-income neighborhood--they are my parents, Angel and 
     Lupe Calvillo are their names, and in my opinion they are the 
     two most successful Hispanic business leaders. I base this 
     opinion on the description of what I believe ``Hispanic 
     Business Leadership'' is. I believe that a Hispanic leader in 
     business should have the characteristics that are common in 
     the mother and father family figures in Hispanic families. I 
     believe this because running a business is like managing a 
     big family, where the children are the employees and you are 
     there to manage them into becoming successful individuals for 
     their benefit as well as the family, which is a sort of 
     business. My parents were extremely successful in managing 
     their children, or their ``employees,'' into becoming 
     successful individuals. How, you may ask? First of all, I 
     don't think many could argue that Hispanic parents, with 
     their strict and religious way of raising their families, are 
     the most successful at running any kind of family. This is 
     why many Hispanic businesses that are family owned, for 
     instance the explosion of family restaurants, are so 
     successful. The Hispanic businesses are managed with the same 
     leadership skills that my parents had as they were raising 
     their children. The skills my parents embody and that they 
     taught me, in preparation for becoming successful, are summed 
     up in three words; integrity, dignity and faith. Integrity--
     doing what you say you're going to do, Dignity--meaning your 
     daily actions should bring honor and humility, and Faith--
     having loyalty to God's teachings and confidence in God's 
     plan for you. Three characteristics needed to be a successful 
     business leader in any community, whether it be Hispanic or 
     not.
       My parent's climb to success with their own family happened 
     because they are living every day those three characteristics 
     they taught my brothers, sisters and me.
       My parents came to America in 1963 with hopes of a better 
     future for themselves and their children. They have no 
     education whatsoever and to this day, many years later, 
     barely utter the English language. They were migrant workers 
     in California and Washington. My older siblings vividly 
     remember their childhood when they, too, had to work in the 
     fields, alongside my parents. When my parents first arrived 
     in America, they made a pact with each other that the life 
     they lived was not going to be the destiny of their children. 
     They had arrived in the ``land of opportunity,'' and they 
     would do anything to give their children the best education 
     available to them.
       This is exactly what they did. My Dad eventually obtained a 
     job as a welder and my Mom as a motel housekeeper. Although 
     together they averaged a meager income, they were able to 
     send all five of my siblings and me to private schools. I 
     know this seems unimaginably hard to do, but my family 
     succeeded because of my parents' immense faith in God, 
     family, and in this country. My siblings and I obtained jobs 
     at young ages so we could help out financially; we understood 
     and accepted why we couldn't go see a movie on weekends, or 
     why in winter we would double layer our clothes and sleep 
     with our jackets on. Yes, we were poor, but I never really 
     knew my family was poor until I went to Bellarmine Prep. High 
     School and visited my friends elegant homes and saw how they 
     lived. However, I still never felt the negative associations 
     that are usually paired with being poor. I was happy, because 
     God gave me more blessings than money could ever give me. God 
     gave me two extraordinary parents who instilled Christian 
     morals in their children and taught us how to live with 
     integrity and dignity in the eyes of God. Because God is 
     guiding my family, He made our experiences make my family 
     strong and united--truly engulfed in love for one another.
       My parents worked hard, harder than any human being should 
     ever have to. They have gone without, so that we wouldn't . . 
     . the most unselfish human act possible . . . and this is why 
     under all my extreme circumstances I prevail. Looking at my 
     father's leathered hands alone send me soaring. Now it is my 
     turn to help them. I have responsibilities after school that 
     few others have. I must fill out forms, pay bills, send 
     letters, read letters, make phone calls for appointments, go 
     to appointments to translate and much more. I do all of this 
     for my parents because they do not speak English, read or 
     write. Sometimes, I feel like I am the parent. It is 
     frustrating at times when I have a test to study for, but 
     can't because I have to translate for my parents somewhere, 
     at some meeting, or appointment, etc. However, I do it 
     because I love them and like I mentioned before, I know their 
     hands are thick and knotted because of the lifetime of work 
     they have done for their children. This is why I am going to 
     college--to further my education and make myself and my 
     parents proud. I have concluded that all of my parents' 
     dreams and hopes live in their children. When we succeed, 
     they have succeeded.
       My parents' hard work and the values they instilled in us 
     started to pay-off with my eldest sister--Lorena. She was the 
     first person in my family to even attempt to go to college. 
     She left my parents' home with just her clothes and my 
     parents' blessing. She eventually graduated from Seattle 
     University. I will never forget how my parents felt when they 
     heard my sister's name called out at the graduation. They 
     cried and my Dad cheered wildly, this is something he rarely 
     does. It had been a struggle for her, but finally a Calvillo 
     made it. My sister also set an example for the rest of the 
     family. My twenty-one year old brother is in his second year 
     at Seattle University, my first cousin, Aida Calvillo (whom 
     worked alongside my sister, Lorena, in the fields with her 
     parents), in 1996 graduated from the University of Washington 
     medical school, and the list continues as more Calvillos are 
     graduating from college. This is my second week attending 
     Seattle University and I am relishing every moment of it.
       My sister utilized her education for others, and preached 
     to her younger siblings the importance of a higher education. 
     She told me my junior year of high school, as I was 
     contemplating college, ``Veronica, you can't determine what 
     you are born into, but you can determine what you will become 
     with the leadership skills our parents gave us.'' I took her 
     advice and have kept, and will keep, moving forward until I 
     become what I have determined I will become: a successful 
     Hispanic business leader.
       With the help of the Hispanic College Fund Board of 
     Trustees and the generous financial support of Eddie Bauer, I 
     am on my way.
       Once again, thank you and good evening.

                          ____________________