Columnist stresses passion for work in NE presentation
by Rawly Bransom, Sports Editor

   People should always be passionate about what they do, a nationally syndicated columnist advised NE Campus students and faculty last week.
   Ruben Navarrette, whose column appears in over 50 newspapers, presented How Latinos Are Changing the United States and You Along With It, as a part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
   Navarrette shared advice his father had received from his grandfather.
   "When you are at home I am your father; at school your teacher is your surrogate father, and anywhere else, the police officers are your father. Anyplace else, you are free to do as you wish," he said.
   That phrase stuck with his father, who became a police officer, and it stuck with Ruben who has two degrees from Harvard and at 26 had his first book, A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano published by Bantam Books.
   Navarrette said when he was growing up, there were only a handful of careers for him to choose from: law, law enforcement, medicine or education.
   He chose to be a lawyer, but the profession never really set with him.
   When he was in high school, a teacher showed him his talent for writing. He had always loved writing, but decided to write for a living when he was 22.
   Navarrette quit pursuing law and began to teach. He taught high school; he taught as a substitute, and he taught kindergarten.
   "It was a humbling experience," he said. "Kindergarteners don't care about your Harvard education, and that tends to humble you a lot."
   In 1996, Navarrette hit his low point. That year he made $12,000, while his parents had paid $30,000 a semester to send him to Harvard. He was about to quit his dream and go back to law school. However, a friend of his told him he had it all wrong.
   "If you are passionate about what you do, then you will spend more time on it. If you spend more time on it, you will become better at it. And if you get better at it, then you will make more money," the friend said.
   Staying with writing, Navarrette has been voted "Best Columnist at a Daily Newspaper" by the Dallas Observer and often does documentary for NPR and PBS.
   Navarrette came to NE Campus to speak about Hispanic Heritage Month and why it is more important now than it was 15 years ago when Ronald Reagan changed the celebration from a week to a month.
   The Hispanic population makes up 36 percent of all people living in Texas, and they spend approximately $600 billion a year. Ten years ago Hispanics made up only 10 percent. Estimates show that by 2030 one out every four people in the United States will be Hispanic.
   Because of this, the Hispanic culture is becoming mainstream.
   "When my grandparents grew up in the '40s, they would take their tacos to school every day," he said. "My grandfather said what he wanted more than anything was just a bologna sandwich because bologna was American. It was mainstream. So they would take their tacos and hide them sometimes, eating them in the corner so no one else could see them."
   However, Navarrette pointed out, now if a person goes to the grocery store, he can find Lunchables with tacos. Navarrette said education is where the Hispanic people must concentrate.
   "I think it is a misconception that the Hispanic parents do not respect the ideas of education. I think it comes down to two main problems. One is that Spanish-speaking Hispanics find it hard to navigate the education system. They just get frustrated and quit," he said.
   Navarrette also said Hispanics should become more a part of their children's lives. He wants parents to say something and stop their children when they try to drop out of school.
   Navarrette's father always remembered what his own father had told him, and he never missed a day. Navarrette ended his presentation by challenging the audience.
  "Go to the next step. We will all be watching you and excited to see you when you get there," he said.