When Lorena Oropeza earned her Ph.D. in history from Cornell University and landed a job as an assistant professor of history at the University of California, Davis, it didn’t take long for her to realize there was as much demand for her talents and skills outside the classroom as in.
As she became aware of the lack of Hispanic presence on a variety of fronts at her institution, Oropeza agreed to serve on several university service committees since there was widespread demand for a Latina with academic credentials to serve on all kinds of panels. Before she realized it, Oropeza was on nine university service committees.
As knowledge of her presence spread, there were more and more invitations on campus and in the community for her to participate in various events, especially those aimed at young Hispanics and education. She would rarely say no, she recalls, as she felt she was helping fill a void.
“For a long time, it [her achievements and rank in academia] kind of propelled me to say yes to everything,” recalls Oropeza.
Meanwhile, there were more demands from the university as Oropeza still had to teach students, critique and grade assignments, counsel, do research and publish on a regular basis.
Oropeza is among a small cohort of Hispanics who have earned Ph.D. degrees and subsequently found themselves stretched from pillar to post in their careers. They are trying to make good on their own goals as teachers and researchers while trying to be meaningful participants in a greater, less defined effort to fill the largely blank pages that tell the story of Hispanics in America and the world.
