Diego Brito Named FCDP Participant of the Year

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Left to right is Gloria Spradley-Brown, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Grants Administration and Compliance, Florida Department of Education; Diego Brita, FCDP Participant of the Year; Jim Haugli, State Director, FCDP; and Carol Heard, Site Coordinator, Orange County FCDP Program Site.

Story from Jim Haugli, State Director of Florida’s Farmworker Career Development Program 

Diego Brito enrolled in the Orange County Farmworker Career Development Program (FCDP) on January 12, 2015.  He came from Mexico as a young boy and is the only sibling to graduate high school and to continue his education.  Diego has four much older brothers and one younger than himself.

Diego contacted the FCDP office and made an appointment to come in.  The office expedited his paperwork and he was approved for the program.  Diego went home and shared the good news with his mother.  She knew that not having Diego’s current salary would put a hardship on her family financially,  but she saw the excitement in his eyes and told him, “If this is really what you want then do it…..do something better with your life son.”

Diego exhibits all the qualities of a great employee. He has a passion for learning and creating great works of welding art.  He helps his peers and mentors new students. Throughout his tenure in class, he had the opportunity to build many projects.  He chose to use this new found knowledge of welding and welding art sculpting at METAL MORPHISIS, a business located in Winter Garden, Florida.

Diego’s welding practice was real-world which made his daily practice in welding realistic and challenging. Diego welcomes constructive criticism when other students would become defensive.  He felt it was a way to fine tune his knowledge and skills in welding fabrication. Diego often said, “You cannot go to the store and buy a bag of knowledge or experience.  It has to be earned by practicing every day.”

After completing the welding program at Westside Tech, Diego started working at Metal Morphisis, LLC as a welder making $12.50 an hour.  After 2 months his pay was raised to $14.00 an hour.  This is very rare for a student fresh out of class (a greenhorn) to earn these frequent pay raises.  Diego wants to continue working during the day and attend Seminole State College at night to earn his degree in Business Management.  His dream is to open his own welding company someday.

His instructor said, “Diego is one of the many talented and structured students to attend my program at Westside Campus. His eagerness to learn and love for the trade of welding will make him successful and take him to new boundaries with great rewards.”

Diego said, “Every step of my welding career has been a personal achievement.  If it wasn’t for programs like the Farmworkers Program I don’t know where I would be today.   I’m living proof the program does work.”

Diego was chosen as the Florida Farmworker Career Development Program Participant of the Year. He was honored at the FCDP Annual Conference in August in Orlando.

Farmworker Becomes Artist, Education Leader, Champion for Change

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Story from California Human Development

chd-jobs-overview_092315_07-e1446217764815When Frances Ortiz-Chavéz was a teenager, she spent her summers picking California’s peaches and tomatoes. Today, she uses her hands for more delicate work, but the impact of her time spent in the fields remains—and speaks clearly—through the art she creates. ‘From the first day I walked into an all English-speaking classroom, I turned to art as a way to express my deepest feelings and a way to fit in,” says Ortiz-Chavéz.

Born in Mexico, Francisca (Frances) and her family immigrated to Arizona when she was 10 years old. She became “Frances” when her teacher declared that “Francisca“ was too difficult to say. But, despite language and cultural challenges, Frances did well in school. She graduated with her class but found few options in Arizona and decided to move to Napa to be with her sister. Little did she know her life was about to change course dramatically.

“It was 1973, I was living at my sister’s home on Soscol Avenue and I needed work badly,” says Frances. “Everyone kept telling me to just walk two houses down to Aurelio Hurtado’s office. So I did, and that was the beginning of great things for me!”

A leading activist for farmworker rights, Sr. Aurelio Hurtado is the co-founder of California Human Development (CHD), a non-profit dedicated to assisting farmworkers and others of low income. He arranged a full-time job for Frances at the Veterans Hospital In Yountville.

“CHD paid my salary for the first few months and that got me going,” says Frances. “I credit Aurelio and CHD for setting me on a powerful and positive course.”

From the Veterans Hospital, Frances went on work as a Bilingual Instructional Assistant and school secretary with Napa Valley School District—a job Aurelio also helped to arrange. In 2003, she was appointed to the school board of the Napa Valley Union School District and has run unopposed every term since. In 2007, she opened Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center in Napa and served as center director for six years. Most recently, Frances helped co-found and is the current co-chair of the Napa Valley Latino Heritage Committee.

“Sr. Aurelio was a pioneer; he inspired me to bring the Latino voice to the forefront and to work for social justice in our schools and our community. I’m proud to be able to follow in his footsteps,” she says.

Frances also never gave up her art; she continues to create beautiful and powerful work depicting the Latino experience.