Esteban Salinas
WIN SCHOLARSHIP - Esteban Salinas, left, and Jesus Mena, Weslaco High School seniors, have been awarded four-year scholarships at Texas A&M University where they both plan to major in chemical engineering. The two also were awarded Dow Chemical Scholarships at Texas A&I, but chose the A&M offer. (Monitor Photo)
2 Weslaco Students
Given Scholarships
WESLACO - Esteban Salinas and Jesus Mena, members of the Weslaco High School graduating class will attend Texas A&M University on four-year scholarships providing $400 assistance annually plus a $400 guaranteed working program. Both boys also received Dow Chemical Scholarship at Texas A&I. David Anderson, high school counselor, reported. Salinas is the son of Mrs. Leonides G. Salinas. Mena's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Mena Sr. Both are honor graduates. Salinas is salutatorian of the graduating class. Both are National Honor Society members and Rotary Scholars and serve on the Student Senate. Salinas is Student Senate election commissioner and is listed in the high school "Who's Who". Mena is president of Pan American Student Forum. A member of Quill and Scroll and on the staff of the school annual.
WIN SCHOLARSHIP - Esteban Salinas, left, and Jesus Mena, Weslaco High School seniors, have been awarded four-year scholarships at Texas A&M University where they both plan to major in chemical engineering. The two also were awarded Dow Chemical Scholarships at Texas A&I, but chose the A&M offer. (Monitor Photo)
2 Weslaco Students
Given Scholarships
WESLACO - Esteban Salinas and Jesus Mena, members of the Weslaco High School graduating class will attend Texas A&M University on four-year scholarships providing $400 assistance annually plus a $400 guaranteed working program. Both boys also received Dow Chemical Scholarship at Texas A&I. David Anderson, high school counselor, reported. Salinas is the son of Mrs. Leonides G. Salinas. Mena's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Mena Sr. Both are honor graduates. Salinas is salutatorian of the graduating class. Both are National Honor Society members and Rotary Scholars and serve on the Student Senate. Salinas is Student Senate election commissioner and is listed in the high school "Who's Who". Mena is president of Pan American Student Forum. A member of Quill and Scroll and on the staff of the school annual.
VALLEY MEN
IN UNIFORM
Army Pvt. Reymundo Garza, son of Mr. and Mrs. Baldemar M. Garza, Route 3, Mission, recently completed eight weels of basic training at the U.S. Army Training Center Infantry, Ft, Polk, La.
Army Pvt. Esteban G. Salinas, son of Mrs. Leonides Salinas, Weslaco, recently completed nine weeks of training as a light infantryman at Ft. Jackson, S.C. He received his B.S. degree from the Texas A. and M. University at College Station in 1970.
Born in a small ranch near the San Juan River in Mexico, Esteban Salinas spent much of his early youth in Mexico traveling between the state lines of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. He often spent time in the small ranch of “El Zacate” in the state of Nuevo Leon but also quite frequently visited “San Antonio de Reyna”, another small ranch in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas. Neither villages hosted any education past elementary but despite this, his father, Raymundo Salinas, continued his education into junior high at Monterrey, the capitol of Nuevo Leon, after completing schooling in their local village. Tragically, his father passed away at the young age of 26 prompting their mother, Leonides Gonzalez de Salinas, to make important decisions concerning her family’s future. Leonides, being a strong, independent, and intelligent woman, spent the next couple of years traveling between the United States and Mexico organizing the citizenship of Esteban Salinas and his younger brother, Jose Hector Salinas, to legally enter the United States. Her efforts would prove fruitful eventually being able to relocate her family to Texas settling in the border city of Weslaco in 1956. Arriving in the United States, they briefly spent time borrowing a portion of a family member's space eventually being able to buy a plot of land in which they would build their residence. The area in which Esteban Salinas was raised was known locally as a “Barrio” characterized by its poor standard of living and frequent flooding. Esteban Salinas spent much of his early years tending the fields with his mother and younger brother, traveling between the Rio Grande Valley, northern Texas, and even as far out as California, to work on everything from cotton fields to grape farms. Although this was the status norm for most Mexican families at that time, Leonides envisioned a better future for her children away from the hard labor in the fields and instead on a pursuit of higher education. With this vision, no matter the circumstances, Leonides would always make an effort to support and guarantee her children’s education by emphasizing its value. Uncommon in most migrant families at that time, Leonides would cut their time in the fields short to guarantee that her children would be able to attend school whenever a new semester commenced. Her support of her children would prove vital for the successful future of Esteban Salinas and the legacy he would eventually leave.
Due to his transfer from Mexico, Esteban Salinas would find himself in limbo, often being switched around between 3rd and 4th grade. He enrolled in Memorial Elementary School in Weslaco, Texas, and excelled in mathematics but was held back by the language barrier. Through perseverance and support from their mother, Esteban Salinas and his brother would go on to reach junior high. The switch from a predominately Mexican and Mexican-American elementary school to a more demographically dominant Anglo-American junior high was apparent. Fewer students of Hispanic backgrounds would go beyond primary school often favoring or being required to start working to support their families. This created a much more Anglo-American dominated junior high creating visible racial tensions. Racial tensions ran throughout their education and even reached into their city. Physical barriers prevented Mexican activity in certain areas of the city with the more locally infamous example being that of the U.S. Route 83 and its adjacent railroad track. The railroad divided the city into two sectors with communities south of the track being majority Anglo-American and settlements to the north housing mostly Mexicans with little favorable interactions between either side. A personal example to Esteban Salinas were the two separate movie theatres in Weslaco, built to service both demographics separately. Weslaco, and other border towns, were no exception to the social climate of the United States during that era, separating entire cities by racial lines both physical and arbitrary. Not settled just with what was apparent, Esteban Salinas hoped continue his understanding of the social climate of the country in which he lived in, often visiting his uncle, Alonso Salinas, who probed his curiosity for this topic. Alonso Salinas motivated his nephew to stay informed to the everchanging politics and the ongoing civil rights movements. They would have frequent discussions examining the happenings of not just their city, but entire movements and the political climate of the United States. Despite the odds, Esteban Salinas remained unfazed and determined to overcome his obstacles eventually graduating salutatorian from his junior high and earning a full-ride scholarship to Texas A&M on the day of his graduation.
Being the first in his family to attend university proved to be yet another major shift from the life he knew before. Now enrolled in a school with an even lower demographic of Mexican-Americans, as well as competing with students from more privileged backgrounds, Esteban Salinas faced a couple challenges starting his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 1966. Noticing the lack of Hispanic students and Hispanic representation, Esteban Salinas, with the support of his counselor, Mr. Stark, established a Hispanic organization within the university in the hopes of unititing Hispanics and providing a platform for them to speak on. A friend of his at the nearby UT Austin also started a Mexican American organization then known as CAMAC. Together, they pioneered Hispanic involvement and repersentation in this area in their representative institutions. His younger brother, Jose Hector Salinas, would eventually enroll at UT Austin’s School of Medicine helping in their endeavors as well. Esteban Salinas continued to work hard on his personal education but not without difficulties either. Esteban Salinas faced a couple challenges while adjusting to his new enviorment. Unlike other students from privileged backgrounds, Esteban Salinas was neither prepared or equipped with the support to effectively succeed in such a competitive environment. His previous junior high did not provide the appropriate framework and studies, such as specific prerequisites, that would’ve been instrumental in supporting him throughout his time at university. Being the first in his family to attend university, Esteban Salinas also did not have the same support or background information that many other students had in order to find success at university. However, through the support from his family and counselor, hardwork, and an unwavering will to succeed, Esteban Salinas would eventually earn his Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering in 1970 becoming the first college graduate in his family.