Swept in on a Cloud of Dust

Victor Lopez Left the Orchards of Avenal to Pursue Higher Education, Set an Example for His Siblings

By Lori Gilbert

Victor Lopez was in an almond orchard raking fallen nuts into the middle of the rows to be plucked up by a harvesting machine.

Dust was swirling around him, but as any 17-year-old boy would, he answered an incoming call on his cell phone.

It was Stan State student Alvaro Cabrera, who was following up after Lopez, on a visit to Stan State, signed up for the Male Success Initiative.

“The machines were just coming by. I was covering myself up and trying to listen,” Lopez said. “I could have just hung up.”

He didn’t though. He stayed on the line, and when he arrived at Stan State a few weeks later, he had a place to go.

The Male Success Initiative (MSI), located in the Warrior Cross Cultural Center, is where Lopez found a place to belong.

For him, that’s a rarity.

“I don’t feel like I’m a part of the U.S. because I’m a child of undocumented people from another country, and I don’t feel like I’m from their country because I wasn’t raised there,” Lopez said.

Connecting with MSI, and this year attending the California State University’s Young Males of Color Consortium, has helped him realize his challenges are not unique. His story is, though.

Lopez arrived at Stan State as a third-year business administration major. Through the Wonderful Company, Lopez obtained both a high school diploma and associate degree in agriculture through a dual-enrollment program at Avenal High School.

“After promotion from middle school, we started summer school the following week,” Lopez said. “Summers would come around and you would take compressed courses. Then you’d do more courses in the fall and spring. I went to summer school every summer. After school I worked in the fields.”

Lopez might have been destined for work in the fields but in eighth grade, a woman named Lupe Rezendez began to care for him and his siblings while his mom worked, and she encouraged him to go to college.

“She’d always say ‘Victor, you’ve got to break the cycle. You’ve got to go to college,’” Lopez said. “She’s the one who sparked that idea in me.”

He enrolled at Stan State because it was small, like Avenal, and MSI made for a soft landing.

Peer mentor Luis Toledo became his closest friend. He introduced Lopez to the College Corps program and Lopez spent this year as a paid volunteer on the United Samaritans Foundation food delivery trucks.

Lopez also volunteered for every shift of the organization’s annual Legacy of Hope fundraising dinner.

“I’ve never been a part of anything like that, anything that big,” Lopez said. “You have people from various companies and talking to some of them was a good experience. It exposed me to many things.”

The CSU Young Males of Color Consortium provided other new experiences: his first airplane flight and visit to San Diego.

“Victor seized the opportunity to forge meaningful connections with fellow attendees,” said Carolina Alfaro, executive director of student leadership, engagement and belonging. “His initiative reflects not only his personal growth but also his dedication to learning from others and embracing diverse perspectives.”

He said it showed him that others have overcome similar challenges, although his dreams remain his own.

“The reason I pursued higher education was to switch the cycle, and it was for my siblings. I want to be an example for them,” he said.

Raised by a hard-working single mom until she remarried when he was 12, Lopez takes his responsibility to his four younger siblings seriously. He wants to make going to college easier for them. MSI, and Toledo made college easier for him.

“He taught me to have different viewpoints, to be outgoing and take advantage of opportunities,” Lopez said. “Luis was a very good mentor to me.”

Lopez works as an ambassador in the Warrior Cross Cultural Center (WCCC).

“Victor’s growth as a student ambassador over the past semester has been impressive,” Alfaro said. “From his initial role as a mentee for MSI, he has blossomed into a confident and motivated leader. His journey reflects a profound transformation, marked by his increased self-assurance and commitment to excellence as a student. His innate curiosity about diverse cultures, identities and experiences has enriched not only his own understanding but also his cultural competency. I’ve witnessed how he has actively engaged at the WCCC including with his Male Success Initiative peers. He has made significant contributions, fostering inclusivity and empowerment among his peers.”

He’ll continue to do so for a while.

Lopez turned 19 in November and plans to spend another year as an undergrad as he contemplates pursuing a master’s degree.

He’s determined to make the most of his college days.

“I didn’t want to go through college and have any regrets,” Lopez said. “If there are opportunities there for students, I’m going to go for it.”

His initiative reflects not only his personal growth but also his dedication to learning from others and embracing diverse perspectives.

- Carolina Alfaro