Fresno State 9th president Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval returns to alma matter, honors Fowler teachers
Thirty-two years after graduating as the eight-ranked student from Fowler High’s Class of 1989, Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval returned to his alma mater to give a surprise address to the Class of 2021 during their graduation ceremony on Thursday (June 10).
Jiménez-Sandoval stood on the same field that saw him graduate but now as the 9th president of Fresno State.
The newly minted Fresno State president told students that often people ask him how he made it to where he is now, what factors led to his success or what challenges he had to overcome to how has he grown.
His answers are simple, he said.
“Family and friends are foundational to my success. Without the support of my parents, my late mother, Tila Sandoval, and my father, Alfonso Jiménez, my five sisters and two brothers, obtaining my university degrees would have been impossible,” said Jiménez-Sandoval, adding that his father still lives in Fowler. “And without the continued support of my wife, Mariana, and two sons, Arion and Leo, my professional success would not be possible.”
And aside from family, Jiménez-Sandoval said he has good friends and that group of individuals that includes his family, wife and kids, and friends, all helped him overcome any adversity that came his way.
Others who played an important role on his success were his teachers, Jiménez-Sandoval said.
“Today I honor those teachers in the Fowler schools I attended, from Marshall Elementary, Fremont Middle School (back then we didn’t have Sutter), and Fowler High,” he said. “My Fowler teachers believed that an immigrant kid from México could excel in school and thrive in learning.”
Jiménez-Sandoval migrated with his family when he was 10 years old from Jalpa, Zacatecas, México without speaking a word of English.
“The encouraging words I received in the Fowler schools gave me the confidence to see myself in college, graduate, and earn a doctorate degree. My academic success, therefore, goes back to those teachers who choose their power of language to encourage and believe in me,” said Jiménez-Sandoval who went to UC Irvine for his higher education but with the focus of returning home with his diploma.
Jiménez-Sandoval shared his memory of the day he left for college.
He was a little scared to go, but he was determined.
“And when I said goodbye to my parents, I said to them: Les prometo que regresaré con mi diploma en mano. I promise you that I will return with my university diploma,” Jiménez-Sandoval said, adding that he dedicated his double degree in history and Spanish from UC Irvine to his parents. He graduated cum laude, with honors.
But that was not the end to Jiménez-Sandoval who continued to the obtain his master’s degree, a degree he earned for himself because “I wanted to learn more, know more about the world.”
Jiménez-Sandoval said he dedicated his doctorate degree “to all those teachers who saw in me the potential to learn, and believed in me and encouraged me, and to this Central Valley community of ours that had nurtured me in its fertile land with its diverse and multicultural people.”
Jiménez-Sandoval said he shared his journey with them because as graduating senior they are too “proud heirs of the long tradition of academic excellence of Fowler Unified.”
“You too have received an education that is transformative, one that forms the basis for everything that you will do in life,” Jiménez-Sandoval said, adding that Fowler High School has produced some of the best leaders in Central California and the world like California Supreme Court Judge Marvin Baxter; Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, mayor of the 5th largest city in California; as well as Dr. Henry Gutiérrez, who is a deputy superintendent in the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, and Ray Steele, former Fresno Bee publisher.
“Now I have some questions for you: To whom will you dedicate your college degree when you graduate? To whom will you honor by being a productive citizen?” Jiménez-Sandoval said, adding that in “10, 15, 30 years from now, what type of leader will you have become? What will be your legacy?”
Jiménez-Sandoval gave the newly graduating class one last piece of advice, something he had learned along the way.
“In life, you will encounter defeat. Remember that. You will encounter disappointment. And yes, you will encounter people who will not believe in you,” he said. “But when you’re down and feel defeated, your character will be determined by your reaction and attitude to the situation. Remember that. During your low times, gather the strength of family and friends, and go back to the faith your teachers have in you.”
“This will give you the strength and resolve necessary to bounce back, embrace the lesson, and try and try again,” Jiménez-Sandoval said, adding the example of Leonard Cohen who wrote 80 versions of his famous song Hallelujah until he found that the 80th was the perfect one.
In review, Jiménez-Sandoval said to the graduating class:
“Family and friends are your support system in life that give you the strength to face adversity,” he said. “No. 2. Remember what your Fowler High teachers have taught you; believe in yourself and be proud of a long legacy of leaders your alma mater has produced. You are in that legacy. And finally, No. 3, when you face adversity, bounce back, and try and try again!”
“Congratulations, Redcats; and I hope to see you at Fresno State as Bulldogs!” Jiménez-Sandoval concluded.
María G. Ortiz-Briones: 559-441-6782, @TuValleTuSalud
María G. Ortiz-Briones: 559-441-6782, @tuvalletusalud
