[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF RAUL VARGAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2004

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, it is with the utmost pleasure and 
privilege that I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to a friend 
and an educator, Mr. Raul Vargas. For more than 32 years Raul has 
guided young men and women along the path of academic excellence and 
future leadership success. Through his years of effort, more than 5,600 
college undergraduate and graduate students from across the country 
have received scholarships totaling $10.3 million during their time at 
the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. How fitting 
that on the evening of February 27, 2004, the USC Mexican American 
Alumni Association (MAAA), of which he is a founding member, will honor 
Raul Vargas for his lifetime commitment to education and inspirational 
leadership at USC.
  The son of Felipe Vargas and Helena Sotelo, Raul Vargas was born on 
May 21, 1939, in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Raul lost his father at the 
tender age of four and when his mother married Alfredo Mejia, the 
family moved to Miami, Arizona. Growing up in this small mining town, 
Raul and his siblings Felipa, Alfredo, Alfonso, Elvia, and Elisa 
learned a strong work ethic and core values from their parents.
  Raul is a proud alumnus of Miami High School and Arizona State 
University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business 
Administration in 1961. That same year, Raul enlisted in the United 
States Army where he served until 1964.
  Raul's service to his country evolved into a lifetime of service in 
the classroom. After completing his teaching credential at Arizona 
State University in 1966, Raul went on to teach Spanish in the Ontario 
School District in California. After five years of teaching, he resumed 
his studies at California State University, Los Angeles as a student in 
the Master's in Administration program. From there he continued his 
doctoral work in public policy at the University of Southern 
California. In January 1972, Raul joined the USC family as Executive 
Director of the Office for Mexican American Programs at the University 
of Southern California.
  Raul has always been a hard worker and driven to succeed. 
Fortunately, he had the good sense to pause for a moment and recognize 
that the best thing in his life stood before him: Marcia Wyse. Raul and 
Marcia married in December of 1966. Together they have become an 
indivisible and indispensable team, blessed with a true partnership, 
friendship and love. Raul and Marcia are now the proud parents of two 
children, Tracie and Cesar, and one grandchild, Alexandra. And Marcia, 
in her own right, is one of our country's preeminent and forceful 
voices advocating for America's English-language learners and the value 
of bilingual education.

  Raul's career has always combined his passion for students with his 
commitment to innovation as an administrator. So it was that in 1974, 
Raul and eight USC alumni founded the USC Mexican American Alumni 
Association with a bold, but untested vision to build a mighty anchor 
and support for Latino college enrollment at the University. Their 
success has surpassed all expectations. Raul and the MAAA recently 
completed the association's Endowment Fund Campaign which increased its 
endowment to $2.1 million to assist future generations of Latino 
college students. Marcia will tell you that Raul takes great pride and 
honor in making a prestigious university like USC more accessible to 
Latino students.
  Mr. Speaker, as family, friends and colleagues gather to celebrate 
Raul's many accomplishments, it is with great admiration and pride that 
I ask my colleagues to join me today in saluting this exceptional man 
and brother to many. America, the University of Southern California, 
and America's future leaders have certainly gotten the better end of 
the bargain when the doors of education and public service opened to 
Raul Vargas. Fight on, my friend!

                          ____________________