A Life Story.

An insight into the life of Andrew Valdez, a man who learned from his experiences and started a change.

Andrew Valdez was born in New Mexico, but spent most of his childhood in a poor neighborhood in Salt Lake City. Valdez sequestered himself to a “nine block radius’ around his house and very rarely ventured outside of it. That is, until the day he discovered an opportunity that would take him far beyond those nine blocks. In an interview with the US Tennis Association Andrew says, “In my experience, tennis took me out of a nine-block radius -- that was my life was nine blocks -- and took me to a park for the first time and exposed me to people from a completely different world: educated people, accomplished people, people who problem solve without violence.” With his parents being from another state and growing up in a lower class neighborhood, Andrew never had connections to these kinds of people. He lacked the resources he needed to explore a world of higher education. In his case, he was able to make these connections for himself through tennis, but many kids don’t end up finding that for themselves. That is why it is so important to provide opportunities and stepping stones for kids to get to higher education. Without access to those resources Valdez may not be the successful Judge and father that he is today.

Valdez’s story is a perfect example of why it is so important for all children, regardless of the circumstances they are born with, to be provided with equal opportunities. There is a wide variety of ways to give kids access to these opportunities. A problem that Valdez and kids face today is that coming from a lower income family typically means going to a lower budget school, which are commonly Title One schools. According to uslegal.com, schools labeled Title One are schools that have a large population of students from low-income families, and receive their money from federal funds. The federally allotted money is not enough to provide these schools with all the resources that others receive. Physical Education and art programs are usually the first to go, as they are not always considered core-curriculum. As kids are developing, these subjects are vital for students to develop a well-rounded understanding of important aspects of life. Since these programs are not always offered in schools, Valdez and many others have started after-school programs to accommodate for lack of opportunities. An article done by Lancaster says, “Andrew Valdez knows what it’s like to be an at-risk kid. Before he became a judge, he was one.” His knowledge and personal connection to the issue makes him the perfect person to spearhead this issue.

Tennis and Tutoring is one of the many programs that Valdez is a part of. He co-founded this program to provide kids with a similar experience to what he had growing up. This program works with students from Title One elementary schools that don’t have access to adequate, if any, physical education. The program was modeled after one that students from Berkeley University started. Everyday after school the kids work with mentors and participate in tennis drills for an hour, then receive help on homework and math skills for another hour. Like Valdez, these kids are able to discover more about themselves and find an identity in a place outside of whatever their radius may be. This discovery catalyzes more encouragement and self discovery in kids. This program and its access to resources and connections gives kids both the intrinsic desire as well as the ability to seek higher education and better opportunities.

A key contributor to Valdez’s success was his mentor Jack Keller. Through tennis and other things, Keller pushed Valdez to want more for himself. All it took was one person believing in him, for Valdez’s life to permanently change course for the better. Everyone has the ability to believe in a child, and that belief could be what makes the difference in what their life turns out to be. This however is an easy feat because of the constant necessity and shortage of mentors like Keller. There are endless ways to help provide new opportunities for young students, whether it be through arts, sports, math, or any other passion one may have. If something sparks the interest of a child, access to it could open doors for them for the rest of their lives. Anyone can be a Jack Keller or an Andrew Valdez by stepping up and making a difference in a life. A quote from Valdez while talking about his mother in an article done by Intermountain Catholic says, “She wanted to make sure that we her kids grew up with a strong work ethic and success ethic.” And that is exactly what he did.

Time to make a difference.

Stay Interested.

Heres a few songs that will keep your mind on the issue. Add them to a playlist or give them a listen to remind yourself why you should get involved.

Where is the Love - The Black Eyed Peas

This song relates to the issue of equal opportunities because it talks about the issue of discrimination and how even though we should all be one together in America, instead there is hate and separation. It asks “where is the love” several times and that brings to the light the fact that we are not all there for each other offering fair opportunities.

Same Love - Macklemore

This song talks more about equality within the LGBTQ community but still relates to the idea of equal opportunities as a whole. When he talks about the youtube comments it is telling that people are not able to do what they love because of who they are. This is similar to equal opportunities based on where you come from, because opportunities are taken away from people based on who they are as a person.

One Love - Bob Marley

There is one line in the song that is a perfect example of how people are constantly given less chances even when this song was written, and probably even more so then. The line is “Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner.” We shouldn't look at it as having pity on the people who are at a disadvantage, but more to be able to adapt to what everyone’s individual backgrounds may need.

Imagine - John Lennon

The line “I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one” is spot on. The goal is that everyone has access to the same resources and has the same ability to be able to accomplish as much as they want to, and not be stunted because you aren’t at the same place as those around you.

The Power of Equality - The Red Hot Chili Peppers

We as people are not as progressive as we need to be about equality. We are becoming much better about not discriminating against color or gender, although the problem is not at all solved. The line “The power is equality is not yet what it ought to be” is a good way to show that we are not giving equal rights nor opportunities to everyone.