SACRAMENTO CITY COLLEGE
From a Future of Uncertainty... By Crystal Lee
J
esus Limón Guzman recalls a future without promise. At eight years old, he and his family crossed the border into the U.S. That passage began a life of constant fear and uncertainty – uneasiness that all they had, anything they earned or worked toward or built, could vanish in an instant. “When I was in high school, I had this awareness that we were undocumented,” says Limón Guzman. “There was no pressure – or hope – of going to college, because even if I went to college it wasn’t promised that it would lead to a career.” In Limón Guzman’s reality, if he were lucky, he would face a lifetime of labor as a custodian, pressure washing and cleaning parking lots. Anything more was out of reach – not meant for people like him. This was the understanding shared by all undocumented immigrants. Yet perhaps there was a seed of hope for something more, because Limón Guzman did apply to college. He tried Sacramento State first, but was told he would have to pay out-of-state tuition, which he could not afford. “That’s when I went to Sac City, and that’s when everything changed,” he says. From the moment he stepped onto the tree-lined campus of Sacramento City College, everywhere he looked, he saw people like him. He saw people with brown skin, people from his neighborhood who dressed like him and talked like him, people who struggled, who had family obligations and juggled multiple jobs while attending school. He saw himself in his classmates, but also in his instructors and counselors. When he met counselors Juan la
to College Professor
have a professional career in education, he figured, he could still use his own education to give something back to his community: “It gave me a sense of purpose. I could contribute.” But it wasn’t until the Obama administration implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that Limón Guzman’s world truly opened up. He applied for a work permit and was hired as a tutor at SCC’s Writing Center. Meanwhile, he continued volunteering and earned a master’s degree in English Literature from Sacramento State. He began teaching part-time at SCC and American River College. He was hired as a lecturer at Sacramento State and continued to apply and interview for full-time positions. Then, this past “Education has allowed summer, he received me to come back to the news that he had been selected from my community with a a competitive pool genuine purpose.“ to teach English as Jesus LimÓn Guzman a tenure-track professor at Sacramento “I never exCity College. perienced that before. I never expeNever had he imagined that any of rienced those two worlds meshing,” this could happen for him. When he Limón Guzman says. “I hadn’t met greets his students in the fall, he will someone that could articulate some of have one thought above all else: He the struggles I was going through in an wants to provide them with the space intellectual fashion.” and the tools to discover who they are It pushed the boundaries of Limón and gain the confidence and perspecGuzman’s reality. Gradually, his idea of tive to change their own narratives. success and what was possible began “I would like for my students to to shift. He started to see that he could experience a reflection of themselves do more, even within the limitations of in my class,” he says. “Education is emhis employment options as an undocupowerment. Education has allowed me mented immigrant. to come back to my community with a He began volunteering. Educagenuine purpose.” tion became important to him, so he poured his energy into developing – Crystal Lee is SCC’s Public after-school literacy and tutoring Relations Technician. programs for local youth. If he couldn’t
Chica and Keith Muraki, he says, he couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. Here were two people who, by virtue of their positions as college counselors, commanded respect and embodied success. They spoke intelligently, yet they were approachable and familiar. They ate at the same South Sacramento restaurants as Limón Guzman and his friends and family. They understood where he was coming from.
Los Rios Matters | FALL 2016
13