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Latina leader strives to help others

By Maria Machuca
Más Staff
Although Ann Cervantes prefers to keep a low profile and stays away from the spotlight, she is a familiar face in the Latino community.
She is involved in a variety of activities, ranging from raising funds for local organizations and political issues to advocating education and women's business needs.
The former director of customer services for Magnolia HealthCare, Inc. left her career in social and health services in 2005 to become a field representative for Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
Cervantes shares with Más readers about her experiences as a Latina professional:

Q: Tell me about your family history?
A: I'm originally from the Tulare/Porterville county area. My family came to the Tulare area in the 1950s. They used to migrate all over the United States; they were farmworkers. They ended up in the Porterville area. My mom met my dad when she was in a labor camp. He said, “que se la robo.” I don't know if that's true, but, a year later, I was born. Two years later, I had two brothers and two sisters; there are a total of five of us. When I graduated from high school, I decided to apply for Northridge, Cal State Los Angeles, Fresno State and Bakersfield. My first choice was Northridge, and I had already been accepted to go to Northridge, but then my dad got hurt and became really sick.  So, I decided for Bakersfield. I have been in Bakersfield for 21 years.

Q: Did you grow up speaking English or Spanish?
A: We grew up speaking Spanish because of my grandma. She would tell us, “en mi casa, no hablan ingles, puro español.” Even though she understood English well, she would not allow us to speak English. When we started going to day-care centers, after-school programs, school, that's when we started to learn English. Now I kind of mix a little bit of both - it's what we call, “Spanglish.” Ahi le metemos el ingles y el Spanish, all mixed together. But my Spanish has gotten way much better because the jobs that I have had. Even when I go home, I try to speak in Spanish to my uncles. All my family is bilingual. I think it's a great skill.

Q: What are some of your community activities?
A: Membership chair of the California Elected Women Education and Research (CEWEAR); board member of the Community Connection for Child Care Foundation; treasurer of the Latina Leaders of Kern; board member of the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; board member of the Women's Foundation; membership and newsletter chair of the Bakersfield Raiders Booster Club; and commissioner of the First 5 Kern.

Q: What do you like about serving in the Latina Leaders?
A: Latina Leaders has been around since 1999. It's a group of women who came together to focus on women, especially Latinas, from those with PhDs and those in entry-level positions. I have been very honored to be part of Latina Leaders of Kern County for the past three years. When they asked me to come on board, I thought it was a great group with a lot of potential. I got to meet a lot of women who I knew of, but now I call them friends because we do a lot of work together, not only in Latino Leaders, but also in other activities. I am the treasurer for the group. They call me “coda,” you know, because I'm very tight with it, but I make sure that we have enough money to make our operation work. We try to find ways to save our dollars because the money we get is for our women's mentoring programs. We have a group of about 45 Kern County Latinas who are in high school. They learn from personal growth, hygiene, how to wear make up, how to dress for a job interview.

Q: What inspires you to stay involved in the community?
A: We all have full-time jobs so this is something we do for passion. What inspires me is that I'm involved in the Women's Foundation of California. I have been on its grants committee for seven years. We are a funding board, and we give out like $25,000 to $35,000 for women and girls' projects. I have a son. I don't have a girl to have that girl connection so this is my way to have that girl connection.

Q: How does your cultural background or ethnicity play a role in your community involvement?
A: First and foremost, we are Latino or what they call us, Americans of Hispanic descent. I don't think I wear my culture on my sleeve, all that Chicano-power type stuff. I look at it from people's needs. My cultural and ethnic background helps me understand what African-American families need, what Asian-American families need, what Anglo-American families need. I had done nonprofits for 15 years, and I've been in the social services. The culture part is the sensitivity - that really helps me do the job I do. I know what is like to be poor. I know what is like to be hungry. I know what is like to be without, so utilizing those needs, plus my cultural background, makes me a better person to help everybody.

Q: What part of your culture drives you to the issues that you fight for?
A: I'm second generation. My father was born in Mexico. I was the first one to graduate from college out of all my relatives. My dad went to 11th grade, but he had to go work to help my grandmother, and my mother only went to the 5th grade in Texas. When we heard about all this immigration stuff, I take it personal. When they say all those immigrants from X, Y, Z, I feel like, God, they are talking about my family and my dad. It makes me, not angry, but it makes me say, “You know, I need to educate what the bigger picture is.” It's not about all the negative we hear. There is a lot of good positive there. There are a lot of good people. I have been involved with immigration programs in the last few years.

Q: Do you have a Latina/Latino role model?
A: Yes, my grandmother. She passed away when I was 17 years old. My grandmother came to the United States in 1946. She left Tamaulipas, Tampico with four boys and my great-grandmother. My grandfather didn't want to come to United States. My great-granduncle, her brother, was already living in Texas. My abuela wanted to come over here and, of course, like everyone else wanted to come here to make a better life. In those days, it wasn't traditional for a woman to leave her husband and move forward with her life. In your typical Mexican family, we go by the rules of the man. But my grandma was totally not traditional. She left Mexico and came to United States. She did pretty good for herself, her four boys and my great-grandmother. This lady was before her time. They moved to the Porterville area and bought a house. We still have that house.

Q: Can you think of a time when other Latinos looked up to you as a role model?
A: I don't see myself as a role model. I see myself as the person who spreads seeds. I connect people. I always go to events and I make sure that people feel comfortable with other people and they end up connecting because of the things they have in common.

Q: Best advice to give our younger Latino generation?
A: There are a lot of obstacles we all have, whether we are Latinos or non-Latinos, but one of the things I always champion is education. If you get an education, you can get a good-paying job. You can have what everyone else wants to have, whatever that may be. If you drop out of high school, you'll be competing with a 40-year-old woman who may be applying for the same job at McDonalds.