I Can Do Anything, Too

Introduction

The “I Can Do Anything, Too” book promotes an understanding of the past by demonstrating that when children better know their history, they gain a positive self-image which leads to self-confidence and self-esteem. This knowledge of history accompanied with stronger self-image, self-confidence, and self-esteem lets youth examine various career options and opportunities by demonstrating the significant achievements that Latinos have made in various fields. Outcomes of the book are that students gain valuable insight in the following:

1.    A practical introduction to potential career choices;
2.    An understanding about Latinos who have excelled in various professions; and
3.    Improved levels of self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-image in knowing they can do anything just like the strong historical achievements and successes of those who have come before them.

Preface

The careers presented in this book were chosen in order to demonstrate that Latinos display success in many fields. The book also emphasizes why it is important that today’s youth know they can be more than athletes or some other form of entertainment. By bridging the gap with history, it demonstrates to kids that they can achieve anything. With so many negative images projected to youth, they need to understand that they come from a legacy of greatness. The careers selected for this book focus on developing analytical skills, research skills, writing skills, and speaking skills. The book will explore the skills needed to excel in each career field; provide historical references; discuss famous Latinos in each career field; provide exercises in skill assessments, self-assessments, research, and writing; and target grades 8-12.


Famous Firsts by Latino Americans

Government

•    Member of U.S. Congress: Joseph Marion Hernandez, 1822, delegate from the Florida territory
•    U.S. Representative: Romualdo Pacheco, a representative from California, was elected in 1876 by a one-vote margin. He served for four months before his opponent succeeded in contesting the results. In 1879, he was again elected to Congress, where he served for two terms.
•    U.S. Senator: Octaviano Larrazolo was elected in 1928 to finish the term of New Mexico senator Andieus Jones, who had died in office. He served for six months before falling ill and stepping down; he died in 1930. The first Latino senator to serve an entire term was Dennis Chavez, of New Mexico, who served from 1935 through 1962.
•    Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency: General Elwood “Pete” Quesada helped create this agency to manage the growing aviation field and improve airline safety. He served in this position from 1958 to 1961. The agency became the Federal Aviation Administration in 1966.
•    U.S. Treasurer: Romana Acosta Banuelos, 1971-1974.
•    U.S. Cabinet member: Lauro F. Cavazos, 1988-1990, Secretary of Education.
•    U.S. Surgeon General: Antonia Novello, 1990-1993. She was also the first woman ever to hold the position.
•    U.S. Secretary of Transportation: Federico Pena, 1993.
•    U.S.  Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Henry Cisneros, 1993.
•    U.S. Attorney General: Alberto Gonzales, 2005.
•    Democrat to run for President: Bill Richardson, 2008. Though he eventually lost the nomination to Barack Obama, Richardson made history by entering the race.
•    U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Sonia Sotomayor, 2009. She is also the third woman to hold the position.

Military

•    Flying Ace: Colonel Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr. who flew 125 combat missions in the Korean War.
•    Medal of Honor Recipient: Philip Bazaar, a Chilean member of the U.S. Navy, for bravery during the Civil War. He received his Congressional Medal of Honor in 1865.
•    Admiral, U.S. Navy: David G. Farragut. In 1866, he became the first U.S. Naval officer ever to be awarded the rank of admiral. The first Hispanic American to become a four star admiral was Horacio Rivero of Puerto Rico, in 1964.
•    General, U.S. Army: Richard E. Cavazos, 1976. In 1982, he became the army’s first Latino four-star general.
•    Secretary of the Navy: Edward Hidalgo, 1979.

Science and Medicine

•    Astronaut: Franklin Chang-Diaz, 1986. He flew on a total of seven space shuttle missions. The first female Latino astronaut was Ellen Ochoa, whose first of four shuttle missions was in 1991.
•    Nobel Prize in Physics: Luiz Walter Alvarez, 1968, for discoveries about subatomic particles. Later, he and his son proposed the now accepted theory that the mass dinosaur extinction was caused by a meteor impact.
•    Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Severo Ochoa, 1959, for the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA).


Literature

•    Novel in English, written and published in U.S.: Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It? (1872). She’s better known for her 1885 second novel, The Squatter and the Don.
•    Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Oscar Hijuelos, 1990, for his novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
•    Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Nilo Cruz, 2003, for his play Anna in the Tropics.