Editor’s note: This article by Eddie Chavez is the latest installment of monthly contributions to Boardhawk from Ednium: The Alumni Collective. Eddie recently was selected as The Game Giver, or Ednium’s educator of the year,
Being a pioneer is being the first to explore uncharted waters and territories. I feel like I have done that all my life.
I am the son of immigrant parents who left their home country of Mexico in search of the “American Dream.” They decided to plant their seeds in Denver for a better chance at life, and if you ask them, it paid off.
I grew up in the Barnum neighborhood, and for most of my early childhood, that was all I knew. I attended Head Start for a few years before enrolling at Knapp Elementary. The investment in my education from my parents was something I didn’t appreciate until later in my life.
As I went through my elementary grades, I began to learn how impactful teachers can be, from Ms. Wilson, Ms. Farris, and Ms. Navar, just to name a few. As fifth grade was finishing up, this was the first time I became a pioneer, I decided not to go to my neighborhood middle school because I heard of a new school opening, Denver Center for International Studies. It was a hard choice to make as I was leaving the friends I made behind to do something new.
In 2006, I made the jump, a one-year trial. My parents and I agreed that if I didn’t do great at this new school, they would send me to my neighborhood middle school. What they didn’t realize was that I was paving a new path for myself and them.
At DCIS was the first time I realized that the world was not just the Barnum neighborhood I grew up in but way bigger than that. I learned about different religions, languages, histories, and, most importantly, people.
As the years passed and I moved up grade levels, we were being built to become global citizens. Once again, impactful teachers were instrumental in my development: Mr. Muñoz, Dr. Hursh, and Mr. Zielinski. Once again, I came to a crossroads, do I become another high school graduate and follow the stereotype for any son of immigrant parents, or do I break the norm and attend college and become a first-generation student?
If it hadn’t been for a college visit to the University of Denver, I think I would have followed the stereotype expected of a person like me. I walked that campus as a ninth-grader and told myself, “This is where I belong.”
My experience applying to college was an interesting one. I knew DU was the place I belonged, but I also visited Colorado College (CC) in Colorado Springs with my school counselor and loved it too. I applied to both; however, when I applied to CC, I did it under “early decision,” meaning that if I got accepted, I had to attend CC and could not choose between it or DU if I got into both.
To this day, I think it was meant to be. I got rejected from CC and a few weeks later, I was accepted at DU.
They tell you that your college years are the best years of your life. That was partially true for me. While I had access to some of the best professors and attended some of the most impactful classes, there was a sense that I did not belong. Luckily, I had a second family on campus, Volunteers in Partnership, led by Linda Quintanar. If it weren’t for her passion to help students like me who were doing the college thing for the first time, I would have been a college dropout.
I saw other DPS graduates struggling through the same things, and it showed me that I could do this and graduate. Graduating as a DU Pioneer solidified that I was truly a pioneer–not only for myself but for others like me.
For the last five years, I have had the opportunity to work at Denver Justice High School. It was my first dip into education. I started when the pandemic closed everything– schools, businesses -–everyone was told to stay home. While the pandemic made me feel like I didn’t know what I was doing that first year, it led to a celebration of students completing their graduation requirements at our ceremony.
It wasn’t until then that I realized my calling. I think for my parents, I was their “American Dream,” accomplishing things that they couldn’t back in Mexico. Allowing me to explore those uncharted waters and territories was their greatest success. The investment that they made, and I made, in my education was what I value today.
I didn’t know I would have my first experience with Ednium when I was at DU. This is where I first met TeRay, who was working as an admissions counselor there. It wasn’t until I applied to Ednium’s Leadership Launchpad after graduation that I reconnected with him and other DPS alumni. I
was a part of the third cohort of the Leadership Launchpad, and it was impactful. We learned about systems and, most importantly, about telling our story as I am to you. The lasting impact of this is still felt today.
From returning to DU to earn my Educational Leadership and Policy Studies degree to being recognized as the Game Giver by Ednium, I know I am paving the right path, not only for myself but also for my students.
I am proud to be a pioneer. It may get lonely at times, but I know I am doing the right thing. The same sacrifices my parents made for me are the ones I am willing to make so that students can have the same experiences I did while also building their own paths.
