Alum Mabel Jimenez: 'Reflections on 16 Years as an American'

EL TECOLOTE (SAN FRANCISCO) -- In 2008, seven years after I wandered through the streets of San Francisco on that long Greyhound bus ride, I fulfilled that promise to myself and returned to the city to study photojournalism at SF State. For the second time, I was restarting my life, alone in a new place. I graduated in 2010 and soon was welcomed to the world of El Tecolote, where I was hired as a photography editor, and where I still work today. Now, sixteen years later, I can confidently answer that question to my former Conservation Corps supervisor: “I am proud to be a Mexican-American.” I am grateful for the opportunities I would not have been given elsewhere, and proud of what I’ve done with them.