Results Not Typical:

In this narrative, five adult siblings bring their voices together to tell the stories of their interwoven college experiences—how they influenced, supported, and relied on one another and other family members. As the stories unfold, they reveal the strengths of the familial ties that provide meaning and purpose to the college experience, the considerations that drive college enrollment choices, the pain of confrontational and unsupportive college environments, and the joys of success and self-discovery. By linking their stories in this essay, the grown children of the Jimenez family paint a portrait of the centrality of tradition, culture, and family in their atypical success story.

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Margarita Jimenez-Silva is an assistant professor at the College of Teacher Education and Leadership at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on preparing teachers to work with English learners, especially as it relates to teacher education pedagogy and curriculum. Dr. Jimenez-Silva has coordinated curriculum and programs addressing the needs of English-language learners throughout the United States as well as in Mexico, Panama, and Hungary. She has recently published “Lo Que Aprendimos: Advice to Improve Latino Parent Engagement” (forthcoming from the Association of Mexican-American Educators), and, coauthored by K. Olson, “The Campfire Effect: A Preliminary Analysis of Teachers’ Beliefs of Teaching English Learners after State-Mandated Endorsement Courses” in the Journal of Research on Childhood Education (2008). She is active in her community, serving on various school boards and speaking on behalf of English learners and their families.

Norma V. Jimenez Hernandez is an independent research consultant affiliated with Claremont Graduate University’s School of Educational Studies. Her research and teaching have focused on the academic achievement and motivation of children and adolescents from ethnic minority groups. Dr. Hernandez has actively leveraged her academic and professional energies to benefit populations on the periphery of society. She has completed anthropological fieldwork projects throughout the world, applying her training and research in such countries as Honduras, Panama, and Mexico. She is coauthoring a collection of information guides that will promote the sharing of college knowledge through informal networks in underserved urban communities. Prior to working as an independent consultant, Norma taught in a variety of racially concentrated public school settings and at the university level, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education, UCLA, and Claremont Graduate University. She is also the president and cofounder of the American Dream Consortium, a private consulting firm dedicated to assisting students at all levels transition to postsecondary institutions of higher learning.

Ruth Luevanos teaches U.S. history and world history at Pacoima Middle School in Southern California. She has ten years of teaching experience, including elementary, junior high, and high school. She is a strong advocate in the educational community and has served as a WASC coordinator, faculty chair, and PTF board member. She has used her law degree to help defend the rights of students, parents, and teachers in the community.

Dulcemonica Jimenez is a research associate at Southern California Research Institute in Van Nuys, where she does research in cognitive psychology, specifically in substance impairment. She is completing a project that will standardize a battery of field sobriety tests to be used on the water. In addition to conducting research, Dulce is a tutor for low-income students in the Los Angeles area.

Abel Jimenez Jr. is a registered general contractor in the states of Arizona and California. He has worked as a civil engineer and contractor since 1995. He has been very involved in his community as a member of a local school board, parent volunteer in elementary schools, and as a coach of several youth teams.