Miami Transformed. Manny Diaz

Чтение книги онлайн.

      I HAD MY first taste of politics in high school. It was in ninth grade, when I joined the A class, the class with the more studious kids. They were holding elections for class president. One of the students turned to me and asked if I would like him to nominate me. Another student offered to second the nomination. Fearing the smarter kids would not vote for a street jock, I accepted nevertheless and then became class president. It happened again in tenth and eleventh grades. My senior year, I was elected school president. This experience would serve as the launching pad for my career in public service.

      At the first opportunity, I registered to vote as a member of the Democratic Party, despite the fact that my parents and most other Cuban Americans at the time were registering as Republicans. Friends of my parents would often refer to me as “Fidelito” (little Fidel) because of the Belen connection and because they considered me a liberal. “He’s too young to be a communist, so we’ll just call him a ‘pinko’ or ‘little Fidel.’” Of course, they meant this endearingly.

      The summer of my graduating year, I married my high school sweetheart. That was not my immediate post-graduation plan. Rather, I had planned to attend Columbia University in New York City on an academic scholarship, where I would join my best friend and former basketball teammate, Pedro Mencia. Concerned about starting a family so far from home, I decided to enroll at Miami Dade Community College, the largest community college in America, now known as Miami Dade College. I graduated with high honors at both Miami Dade College (1975) and Florida International University (1977). I attended both institutions on a full-time basis, worked full-time (often holding multiple jobs at one time), and regularly played the role of Mr. Mom, staying home to care for my son Manny while my wife worked and went to school to pursue her career in nursing.

      Working full-time made it possible to pay for my studies and support my family. In fact, I never had to borrow money to finance any portion of my undergraduate education. Regrettably, while many state governments profess to lower taxes, they are continually raising fees, including college tuition. Tax and budgeting decisions are supposed to reflect a society’s priorities. Obviously, these legislators do not place a high priority on postsecondary education and the future of our state. I am shocked by the costs of a college education today, and wonder whether it would have been possible for me to achieve what I did under these circumstances.

      In juggling full-time work with a full-time school schedule, I was employed in a hodgepodge of jobs. I served as executive director of the Spanish Speaking Democratic Caucus. I served as a youth counselor and soccer coach for Hebraica (a social group of Cuban Jews); I had a field inventory route for the National Enquirer; I cleaned a bingo parlor between 4:00 and 7:00 A.M. (my first class started at 8:00 A.M.); I worked as an administrator of a surgical center at a local HMO; I was a private tutor in math and English for junior high and high school students; I served as campaign coordinator and chairman for various local and state races; and I would continue to do weekend and summer work at the auto parts factory where my parents still worked.

      I attended the University of Miami School of Law. During my first year, I secured student loans (all of which were paid off on schedule). It was the policy of the law school to schedule classes throughout the day so that students would not be able to hold an outside job during their first year. After my first year, I was fortunate to secure a clerking job at an old-line Miami law firm, and I continued thereafter to work full-time throughout the balance of law school, while maintaining a full class load. I became the first member of my family to be awarded a college and professional degree.