Three years ago, 23-year-old Vince Mendoza decided to attend De Anza College after a hiatus since he had left high school during senior year, without his diploma. Now he is the new student trustee for De Anza.
“I left high school to get a job,” said Mendoza. “I was going to graduate on time and was unfocused. I went back to get [my GED], and came to De Anza two years later and been here ever since.”
Mendoza said even though he was unfocused in high school, he was still attracted to being involved and helping his community. He was on the youth advisory board for a project called Friday Night Live, a positive alternative to going partying for youth.
“It exploded as a program,” Mendoza said with a chuckle. “At De Anza, I joined LEAD. I was the vice president for that and got really into the programs for the people who need the most help. It was rewarding for me to do work like that.”
Mendoza said although he has had a fairly privileged life since childhood, he still feels a desire to help those who haven’t been so privileged. He comes from a third-generation Chicano family that he said provided a strict but loving atmosphere. His mother stayed home and watched him and his siblings while their father went to college and became an engineer.
The incoming student trustee lists watching movies, dancing and cooking as his hobbies.
“I like cooking fusion,” he said. “I make fried chicken with sriracha. Sometimes my dad would forget to buy food and me and my sister would rummage through the cabinets to make food. Sometimes we’d have noodles but no sauce so we’d use butter.”
Mendoza said he wouldn’t name any particular person as his greatest influence, but rather he is inspired by those who have won at the American dream.
“I like people who are really powerful and confident,” Mendoza said. “People who come from nothing and become something.”
Mendoza said last year’s trustee, Emily Kinner, was a mentor for him and he would like to follow in her footsteps with many trips to Sacramento. He explained that he got to know Kinner while working with LEAD and when he found out what the trustee position entailed, he thought it was a perfect fit.
Mendoza said he wants to foster more student activism.
“I’m going to do whatever I can do as a citizen by voting, going to Sacramento and maybe get arrested,” Mendoza said. “I will do as much as I can as long as it doesn’t cause myself harm.”
