From the Editor
Happy Anniversary El Paso Community College! Readers may have seen TV announcements, billboards while driving on the freeway and banners across all our campuses congratulating the College on its first 50 years. This issue of Borderlands is yet another anniversary card to EPCC which has made such a difference in El Paso!
This spring, a large timeline of EPCC’s history was installed on the interior walls of a major building on each campus, tracing the beginnings of the process to establish a community college to the present construction activities, complete with photos and newspaper articles chronicling the history. On pages 6-7 we present a version of the timeline with the date when each campus was established and highlights from each campus, including the first location at Logan Heights on Fort Bliss and the Administrative Services Center where the Tonka Toy factory used to be.
Our “centerfold” is an interview with a former EPCC student who became the first student editor of Borderlands in 1983-84, Alfredo Corchado, now the Mexico Border Bureau Chief of the Dallas Morning News. His is the classic story of an immigrant making good in America, encouraged by his parents who went from being farm workers to owning their own restaurant. Corchado came to the Northwest Campus this spring to talk to students, staff and faculty about his journalistic career, his background and family and the current status of journalists in Mexico. We “raffled” off copies of his two books to members of the audience. That night, with his parents and fiancée present, he gave another talk to members of the larger El Paso community. What a joy it was to meet and talk with this incredible man who, after many years of living in Mexico City, is back living in El Paso!
Corchado is a product of EPCC where his teacher first encouraged him to begin writing ‒ and he did. He fell in love with journalism. And he continued to go to school. Today, we still have those “Alfredos,” who need to be encouraged to write or to “play” with numbers or to take apart a machine or experiment with a 3-D printer. We still need the parents, like Alfredo’s, to encourage their children to leave the nest and go to school, even if they have to “bribe” them, like his mother did. And we need both the parents and the children to know that EPCC is here, waiting for them, wanting them as students!
Image caption: Ruth Vise, Faculty Editor
Throughout this issue, we are looking at unique aspects of EPCC and El Paso, like the views of our five campuses on the cover ‒ can you guess where each photo was taken? Two stories honor individuals with special talents, one a ballet icon and the other, a master coach. The son of an El Paso sheriff, Scott Douglas began taking dance lessons with local teachers and ended up dancing on stages all over the world. Nemo Herrera took El Paso’s Bowie Bears to the 1949 state high school baseball title. El Pasoans may recall that Herrera’s name became prominent in 2009 when the Socorro High baseball team also won the state title, and the players themselves honored the surviving 1949 players with championship rings.
I have worked on Borderlands this spring and summer with two inspirational, hard working women: Samantha Linn, student editor, and Rachel Murphree, faculty editor. Their enthusiasm has been boundless and I cannot thank them enough for sharing with me the task of putting together this issue (the 29th for me). Thanks to Don Murphree for taking those awesome photos for our cover. Remember, we are on the web (http://epcc.libguides.com/borderlands). Happy reading!
Ruth E. Vise, Faculty Editor
Faculty Advisor, Borderlands
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From the Student Editor
As student editor, I was either at my desk buried deep in tireless hours of research or rushing around the entire city this summer in search of an answer to one question. Nonetheless, I’d do it all again to give some of El Paso’s beloved heroes the recognition they rightfully deserve. I hope you see that accomplished in the pages of this issue.
Truly, I owe it all to Ms. Vise who unearthed my deep desire to tell the stories of others. She demonstrated diligence in her work and had so much patience with me. Words cannot express my gratitude towards you, Ms. Vise.
Image caption: Samantha Linn, Student Editor
My appreciation goes to the gracious family and friends who spoke to me about Scott Douglas and Nemo Herrera, whom we honor in this issue: Sonia Rama Hicks, Kathy Hubert, Carl C. Williams and Dave Rodriguez. In the making of this publication, I’ve built friendships that will last a lifetime. You sacrificed your afternoons and weekends to share your priceless stories, always treating me as a friend. You showed me that everyone has a story to tell.
To my parents, who never cease to support me, thank you for giving me a desk to work at, a shoulder to cry on, and, most importantly, a longing to uncover truth.
It’s an honor to be the student editor of Borderlands during EPCC’s 50th anniversary, as well as to learn of the accomplishments of Alfredo Corchado, the first student editor of Borderlands. I hope that one day I might be half the writer you are, Mr. Corchado.
To our readers, you may find yourself transforming into a Southwestern sheriff or a Mexican American coach in the heart of a barrio. Either way, you’re sure to find a bit of adventure in this year’s Borderlands.
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From the Faculty Editor
This year has been an exciting time for EPCC as we celebrate our 50th anniversary AND for Borderlands as we celebrate our 37th anniversary. We were fortunate to have prizewinning journalist/author and El Paso notable Alfredo Corchado give two presentations to close out our college’s Spring Arts Festival this year in May. We have published a composite of both talks in this issue for you to enjoy.
Image caption: Rachel Murphree, Faculty Editor
If you haven’t yet been introduced to Alfredo’s books, Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness and Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican- American Migration, you are in for a treat when you begin reading. I’m jealous (or “jelly” as my teens say) that you will be experiencing his writing for the first time. His style is extremely approachable, filled with personal anecdotes and details that bring to life these part biography / memoir/ political histories. Homelands will be coming out this fall in paperback, and both books are translated into Spanish: Medianoche en México and Patrias.
Alfredo was the first Borderlands student editor in 1983, and he has gone on to do great things as the Mexico Border Bureau Chief for the Dallas Morning News. What a tribute to the value and strength of El Paso Community College and its impact on the lives of ordinary people in the community! I count myself fortunate that as a librarian I can teach students essential research skills to help them achieve their dreams.
In my spare time I’m an artist, and in tribute to the hand drawn and painted covers of our earlier issues, we added an example of my watercolors to this issue. More of my paintings are on display in the Library on the Northwest Campus. Stop by and say hello to me at the Reference Desk when you visit!
Image caption: Echeverria, watercolor by Rachel Murphree
Rachel Murphree, Faculty Editor
Borderlands Web Librarian
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Acknowledgements:
Special Thanks to:
Dr. William Serrata, President, El Paso Community College
Steven E. Smith, Vice President of Instruction and Workforce Education
Dr. Lydia Tena, Campus Dean & Dean of Instructional Programs, Northwest Campus
Dr. Paula Mitchell, Associate Vice President of Instruction & Student Success
Lorely Ambriz, Head Librarian, Northwest Campus
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Thanks to:
Lisa Elliott, Mass Communication, Valle Verde Campus
Terri Zarate, Yvonne Lopez, Son Bell, Yolanda Barboza, Leo Alferez, Yasmin Nunez, Mark Rodriguez, Blake Klimasara, Northwest Library
Elvia Guzman-Jarnagin, Marisela Hernandez and Sonya Rosalez, Campus Dean’s Office, Northwest Campus
Rosa Rodriguez, Oscar Acevedo, Adriana Badillo, Northwest Campus, ASC
Fernando (Fernie) Garcia, Marketing and Community Relations
Laura Gaither, Emma Uresti, Martha Najera and Nancy Coe, Northwest Campus ISC
Alfredo Corchado and Angela Kocherga
Donald Murphree
Sonya Rama Hicks
Kathy Hubert
Carl C. Williams
Dave Rodriguez
El Paso Public Library Border Heritage Center, Main Branch
Stephanie Gardea, El Paso Museum of History
Margaret and George Lang, Lucy West, Debbie Luna, Conchita Alvarez, and April Vise Berglund
All the students who researched local history and submitted illustrations in Ms. Vise’s English 1302 classes
Cover photos by Donald Murphree
Borderlands is published annually by El Paso Community College, P. O. Box 20500, El Paso, TX 79998. It is written by students and staff of the college. All rights reserved.
Printing is by PDX Printing, 100 Porfirio Diaz, El Paso, TX 79902, a private firm in no way connected with the El Paso Community College. Funds for the publication of this supplement are provided by the El Paso Community College District; however, the views and opinions expressed in this
magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the El Paso Community College. Furthermore, El Paso Community College does not accept responsibility for possible errors in the accuracy of student research that is represented in these articles, although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy.
El Paso Community College – The Best Place to Start and Finish!
El Paso Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Produced by the Students and Faculty of El Paso Community College
El Paso Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
