Publication Date
Spring 2025
Contributors
JoAnna Mendez, Barbara Ortiz
Keywords
Hispanic Heritage, Hispanic Serving Institution, St. Mary’s University, Mexican background, education, bilingual, cultural challenges, role models, teaching certification, Catholic
Digital Publisher
Digital Commons at St. Mary's University
Description
In Part 1 of our interview, JoAnna Mendez discusses her Mexican heritage, emphasizing her parents' strict upbringing and the importance of education within her family. She shared some of the difficulties of navigating both English and Spanish languages, and her participation in ESL programs in school. JoAnna explained how her cultural background significantly shaped her educational path, crediting her parents as her primary role models. She chose St. Mary's because of its intimate size and Catholic affiliation, appreciating the religious aspect. She also shared her views of the moniker “Hispanic Serving Institution” in relation to St. Mary’s, and she discussed her feelings about Hispanic Heritage Month.
Format
PDF, MP3
Size or Duration
6 pg; 10 min, 31 secs of audio
City
San Antonio, Tx
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Ortiz, Barbara, "Hispanic Heritage Month Project-StMU Oral Histories with JoAnna Mendez, Part 1" (2025). Hispanic Heritage Collection - Oral Histories. 2.
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/hhcortizoh/2