| NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
Among the First
Two of the first Hispanic graduates
awarded for setting education standards
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| The Shorthorn: Drew Campbell |
| UTA alumnus Chris Gomez, one
of the first Hispanic UTA graduates, speaks Tuesday
afternoon before receiving the “Inicia el Trayecto”
award. |
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By Elyse
Malanowski
Contributor to The Shorthorn
Surrounded by students and faculty, Chris Gomez and Leonardo Strittmatter,
two of the first Hispanic graduates from UTA, were honored in the
University Center Carlisle Suite on Tuesday.
The two men were presented with the “Inicia el Trayecto”
or Trail Blazer Award for setting the standard for Hispanics pursuing
higher education.
Gomez graduated in 1964 with a Spanish degree and received his master’s
in 1975 at the university. He worked as an administrator for 15
years.
“I was one of the first Latino administrators, and I’ve
built up a good relationship in the district,” he said.
Gomez is now retired but works part time as an instructor at Tarrant
County College — Northwest Campus.
“I always tell my students, ‘You have to get an education,’
” he said. “Don’t be a quitter.”
He said there are more opportunities opening up for Hispanics now
and several factors motivate them to succeed.
“I think you are seeing more now that we have role models,
like teachers that are Hispanic,” he said. “I think
it gives them something to shoot for.”
Gomez said his mother was a big influence on him when he was going
through college.
He said that he worked at a grocery store when he was in school,
and his mother made tamales for him to sell for extra money.
“She was the one who taught us values and wanted us to succeed,”
he said.
Strittmatter, 72, is retired from the Air Force and runs his own
Spanish translation service.
He received his associate’s degree in history here in 1956
and got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
University of North Texas.
He also spent five years in Spain with the Air Force where he became
more familiar with the language.
“The most important thing is to get an education, and then
you can get a job,” Strittmatter said.
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