Alumni of color to be feted during homecoming week
By Victoria Baker
Each fall, a selection of accomplished multicultural alumni are invited to return to campus to be honored at the Multicultural Social, hosted by the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of People of Color. As a part of the university’s homecoming events, academic colleges are invited to choose an alumnus to highlight, citing their significant accomplishments and ability to connect with current students.
Now in its fifth year, coordinator Georgia Jones believes that the Multicultural Social is a source of pride for the campus community. “People of color need to see successful alumni of color. We want alumni to make connections with students of color,” Jones said. “It is one way to increase the visibility of people of color on campus.”
From starting a marketing agency to bridging the gap between English and Spanish speakers to returning home to revitalize farming amongst elders to advocating for underserved and underprivileged children, this year’s honorees exemplify the power of one’s background, community and support, as cultivated by Nebraska.
Business
In 2014, Susana (Brizuela) Eshleman (’93) was named CEO and president of Children International, a non-profit humanitarian organization that helps children break the cycle of poverty. This opportunity, however, was a long time coming.
Eshleman, who sat on the board of directors for 10 years prior, wanted to make sure she was ready, well-prepared and equipped for the position. “They say when you take on a new role, it should be about no more than a 30% stretch,” Eshleman said. “Well, this was like a 200% stretch for me, given the magnitude and global scope of this organization.”
When she consulted and updated her resume — which hadn’t been done in almost 16 years — she found a letter. Not just any letter, but a letter of recommendation that helped her receive the Outstanding Junior Leadership award during her undergraduate years at Nebraska. A letter of recommendation that was written by her economics professor Dr. Gregory Hayden two decades earlier.
“I remember opening the folder and seeing this letter and almost having tears coming down my eyes,” she said. “His words written 22 years earlier were a source of encouragement as I considered this new role.”
For Eshleman, Dr. Hayden’s kind words were a source of empowerment. “I fully expect regardless of the path Susana chooses, by the time she’s 40 years old she will be an international leader advocating for the rights of the least and the last,” read the letter.
At Children International, Eshleman does just that as she advocates for underprivileged children in 10 different countries by investing in their lives at young ages with programs that target health, education, empowerment and employment.
Yet, Children International is just an extension of Eshleman’s sense of advocacy, which started at a young age. As a child, Eshleman and her grandfather visited some of the poorest parts of Argentina, her native country, bringing food and material goods to those communities. With her grandfather’s guidance, Eshleman knew she wanted to make a difference. “I remember how meaningful it was for me to interact with those families to put a smile on their face and to kind of bring some hope and lighten their burdens,” Eshleman said.
Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
When Aaron LaPointe (’16) entered the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, he’d never worn cowboy boots, driven a truck or even set foot on a farm. While culturally different from his classmates, his developing passion for agriculture was all the same.
“I was all in, very passionate about (agriculture),” LaPointe said. “I knew there was great opportunity coming.” That opportunity would reside in his own foundation, his hometown in Winnebago.
Prior to LaPointe’s time at the university, he attended Briar Cliff University on a basketball scholarship. During his summers he returned to Winnebago where he worked for the Environmental Protection Department. Through this he understood the tribe’s land base and how to use the land. He found that there was little to no involvement with agriculture.
“Our tribe owned about 30,000 acres, and they didn’t farm any of it,” LaPointe said. “That’s what drove me to go into agriculture. I knew there was great opportunity and that our tribe was really underutilizing their agricultural land.”
While LaPointe didn’t grow up on a farm in Winnebago, he knew of the agricultural passion his family had. “My father, one of our tribal leaders, and my grandpa really had that passion for agriculture too,” LaPointe said. “They knew there was opportunity there, and they knew it was important to us as a people.”
So, when LaPointe came to Lincoln, he knew he wanted to learn the skillset needed to return to his community and elevate it, in whichever way he could. He took full advantage of his classes, connecting with professors and his academic adviser. And in the summer before his last year, he interned with Ho-Chunk Farms, a newly developed tribally-owned corporate farm in Winnebago. After his internship, LaPointe was promised a full-time position — one he couldn’t turn down. And upon his graduation, he returned home for Winnebago, Ho-Chunk and his community.
“I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for my entire community. There were a lot of people in the community that helped raise me, so, I felt obligated to give back to the community,” LaPointe said.
Now, under the ag business management of LaPointe, Ho-Chunk aims to teach young people in the community to farm, the value of farming, and hopefully, bring young people back to Winnebago, to give back to their community.
LaPointe, however, is already on a head-start. The traditional and cultural production of Indian corn was becoming scarce in Winnebago, with only a couple of producers to manage the high demand for it. So, in 2018, LaPointe organized the Indian Corn Project, where students partnered with the Winnebago elders and the greater community to plant and harvest corn.
After two years, Ho-Chunk went from growing about three acres of corn to 10 acres, all from the community members and families wanting to take part in this traditional practice and plant their own plots. Now, Ho-Chunk plants 25 acres of Indian corn.
Ho-Chunk doesn’t just stop at harvesting and producing. After the corn is harvested, they donate to the volunteers that helped the process, to the senior citizens center, to a local food bank and to funerals, where traditional Indian corn is a cultural staple.
LaPointe’s work with Ho-Chunk has been so influential that it’s been recognized across Indian Country, with other tribes understanding that they should be doing something similar.
“That project was one of those moments that (showed) me why I came back,” LaPointe said “To know that we went from doing nothing to setting the bar is really fulfilling to me.”
Journalism & Mass Communications
Norberto (Rob) Ayala-Flores (’84) remembers that special moment where he felt his marketing company — Puente Marketing — was making an impact. In a project with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Flores conversed with Hispanic and Latino men, raising awareness about the risk of diabetes amongst their communities. “They thanked me for letting them express their opinion, their ideas, their thoughts,” Flores recalled.
“Nobody really asks us what we think,” one man told Flores. “And you’re doing it in Spanish. That’s like a first.” Puente (which translates to bridge in English) serves the Hispanic community, connecting major brands, start-ups and new product launches to Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.
At Puente Marketing, Flores directly bridges the gap between Hispanics and English speakers — something that he’s well-versed in.
Growing up in Alliance, Flores experienced the “best of both worlds,” that is coming from a Latino (Mexican) household and growing up in predominantly white, rural Nebraska.
“It was being around good people in rural Nebraska who appreciated our family of 18,” Flores said. As the youngest of 16 children, Flores leveraged the roadway his parents and older brothers and sisters paved for him.
It was the same roadway that drove one thing home: his last name “Flores” was his brand. “Oh, you’re a “Flores,” people would say. What that meant was you come from a good family with a lot of respect, you’re family-oriented and you help out your community,” Flores said.
When Flores came to UNL in the 1980s, he expanded his community by joining Delta Tau Delta fraternity as he continued to explore both worlds. With the help of one of his fraternity brothers, Flores changed his major after his first semester from architecture to a double major in advertising and public relations and Spanish.
In the modern languages department, Flores was able to connect with his instructors, faculty and staff on a different level. “I remember having a great time with those professors and teachers, and we could share stories just from being Hispanic,” Flores said.
Architecture
Phuong Nguyen (’14, ’17) is a project architect at BVH Architecture. She brings a keen eye for detail along with her interest for thoughtful design. With a passion for space, environment and people, Nguyen has always been interested in a career in architecture. She creates better living environments for people with different cultures, needs and wants.
Arts & Sciences
Nicholas Gordon (’11) majored in political science and minored in sociology. He is director of recruitment for the College of Arts and Sciences after serving in admissions at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He was a team captain for the Huskers’ track and field team and was named 2011 Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Education & Human Sciences
Dr. Anitra (Webster) Warrior (’05, ’07, ’15) is a psychologist and president of Morningstar Counseling in Lincoln. She is from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma and attended Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago before earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees in counseling psychology from Nebraska.
Engineering
Maurice Kimsey II (’12) is the distribution planning engineer for Omaha Public Power District where he interned as a college student. Born and raised in Omaha, Maurice graduated from Central High School in 2006. He became interested in electrical engineering as a seventh grade student when taking a class at King Science Center where he had to wire a circuit board to get a light to illuminate.
Law
LaChandra Pye (’09) is senior legal counsel at ABB, a global technology corporation. She serves as counsel to the electrification business supporting the corporate functions and government contract issues on legal matters across the United States. She lives in Georgia.