by Paul Caccamise
Daily Lobo
Student Magarita Avitia said before attending UNM she worked as a housekeeper with her mother.
"I woke up every morning at five with my mom," she said. "She pretty much helped me clean everything because it was hard work. I couldn't even hang in there."
That made her want to come to the University, she said. Avitia was one of 69 students attending the El Centro de la Raza graduation ceremony on Saturday. About 250 family and friends attended the event in the SUB.
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El Centro de la Raza is a Chicano/Latino civil rights organization dedicated to the social empowerment and justice of all races with a branch at UNM.
Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, vice president of student affairs at UNM, thanked the families of the students for their success.
"Keep the faith in your family," he said. "You can always count on your family in times of need. There is nothing like family, and we have the best families in the world wherever they may live - most of them in New Mexico, some of them outside of New Mexico."
Alejandro Salcido, an announcer at the event, said it is the families' support that made the graduation possible.
"This is an event made to organize, recognize and honor each graduate individually, because you deserve to tell your story," Salcido said.
Student Ricky Martin Apodaca thanked his loved ones.
"Without which I would be a lesser man," he said.
Four years earlier, Avitia saw her brother graduate in the same Raza ceremony.
"Well, if my brother could do it, I could do it, too," she said. "I saw all my own people out there getting their degree, succeeding, and I thought, 'Well, why can't I?'"
Avitia is graduating with a bachelor's in psychology and Spanish. She plans to continue the ideology of Centro de la Raza by working in immigration law.
The event continued after the ceremony with an outdoor gathering which included music, dancing and food.
Another student speaker, Javier Benavides, said the ideologies of El Centro De La Raza have always been stressed in his family.
"Issues of injustice continue, and there will always be that drive to address them and involve the community," he said. "There will always be a need."
