Like many of you, I subscribe to numerous informational resources (Google, RSS, etc.) that send me alerts, emails, and links to research or studies on a given topic (if you’re not doing this you should be!). As you might guess, information that I receive focuses on the Hispanic workforce, Hispanics and college trends, and other related information. With the wealth of information that I browse daily, most of what I read discusses what “needs to be done” or “what hasn’t been done” to improve or increase the situation of Hispanics in a number of environments.
While I don’t argue that much work is still needed on a number of fronts, I’m gratified to see how much is already being done – and done well – by people, organizations, and communities that are making a difference. However, when I read articles like this one regarding University of Texas Pan American, or Western Oregon University, or this article by Dr. Lorelle Espinosa (now one of my favorite researchers!), I wonder why other organizations and communities do not model similar paths toward success. What keeps others from using a successful solution and applying it somewhere else? I often hear people say that identifying problems is easy, finding solutions is the bigger challenge. I’m not sure I completely agree. Given the number of solutions that can be modeled, literally waiting on the shelf, I think it still comes down to commitment and implementation. In my view, even the best solutions still rely heavily on strong leadership to create change.
Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Surgery went well, and I’m now in full recovery mode. Today is Day 5 and was hoping to be home by now; however, there’s are few “internal process” functions that need to happen before I can leave. Thanks to all of you for your emails and notes of support via Twitter – they’ve been much appreciated. Hopefully all will continue to run smoothly and will be home by tomorrow or Monday. Take care and thanks again for the support.
I had to take a double look at this picture…. “Los Lakers?” Hmmmm, I like it. Actually, it was part of the NBA’s Noche Latina efforts now in its third year.
My alma mater University of Texas at El Paso play the Butler Bulldogs in the big dance today. Go Miners! Update: Oh well…Butler 77 – UTEP 59. A good year and a good run.
I’ve been writing up a storm of guest blogs over at the Intern Matters blog regarding Hispanic culture and the Hispanic workforce. This post wraps up and summarizes my initial posts on Hispanic culture. Check it out when you get a chance. Enjoy!
We’ve all heard the cliché that “the only constant in life is change.” Like many such maxims out there, we read them, understand them, but how often do we embrace them? Change is not something that gives us a chance to plan – real change usually strikes on some idle morning when we least expect it. Recently, I was given an unexpected opportunity to explore how much I know about change. Last week, I underwent emergency surgery for an intestinal condition I didn’t realize I had until it sent me to the hospital. Within hours of setting foot in the emergency room, I was being wheeled hurriedly into an operating room: scared, confused, uncertain, and anxious. Now, only a week later, those initial feelings of doubt have receded; replaced instead with confidence, understanding, assuredness, and optimism. And while the road to my full recovery is still months away, I realize this journey is not only about my health, it’s also about dealing with change.
As you can imagine, every aspect of my life has been touched by this unexpected experience: my wife, my kids, my job(s), my home, my family, my friendships, and so many other things that constitute “my life.” It’s also brought new things into my life like doctors, surgeons, specialists, healthcare agents, medical suppliers, and insurance representatives. And so with all this change, I got to thinking about what we can do to ready ourselves. Change, even in the most unexpected circumstances, can be a positive experience in thought as well as reality. Given that I’m at the crossroads between these two ideas, here are three thoughts that I think can be applied to any situation involving unexpected change: Read more…
Friends and readers: Unfortunately, due to an unexpected medical emergency last week, HTM posts will be a bit slow. I’m currently in the hospital recovering and should be home later this week with lots of R/R expected. As time permits, I will update you on why, what, and how of my situation. I look forward to blogging more as the days pass, but for now, please stay tuned. I appreciate your support. Miguel
Sometimes you just have days when the news isn’t always positive when it comes to Hispanics and other minorities. Two sobering but interesting articles point to the impact the current economic environment is taking on Hispanics. Life’s challenges teach us that any endeavor usually means that you often take two steps back in order to take one step forward. Of course, it’s easy to not always easy to see the forest beyond the trees on some days, but it’s important to do so. Once this environment runs its course like so many before, a lot of businesses and organizations will need more leaders and workers in the coming decades. So even on days like today when the news is not always so positive, it’s important to look beyond the trees and look forward the forest ahead.
The New York Times has an intriguing article regarding the challenges faced by the 2010 Census in which citizens may not actually be able to “classify” themselves correctly on a census form. With the number of inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriages occuring in the United States, I can see how it would be challenging to classify oneself. Here’s the money line from the article:
More than 1 in 50 Americans now identify themselves as “multiracial.” But the pattern of race reporting for foreign-born Americans, is markedly different than for native-born Americans. The foreign born are more likely to list their nation of origin when identifying race or ethnicity. For example, while 87 percent of Americans born in Cuba and 53 percent born in Mexico identified themselves as white, a majority born in the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, who are newer immigrants, described themselves as neither black nor white.
Just the other day, I met someone who is Hispanic in name and culture but is African American in appearance. I don’t think there’s a check box on the census form for him. I didn’t ask what he considered himself. Furthermore, you can just begin to imagine all different organizational dynamics that will come into play as more and more people fall under this ethnic, racial, and cultural trend. Really, reallyfascinating stuff.
