Meet Cecily Meza-Martinez
Audio & Technical Resource Specialist, News Operations
Latino staffers at NPR share their family stories of perseverance, sacrifice, and hard work to achieve the American Dream. These stories are defined by universal values of pride, hope, and an endless determination to help shape the new American landscape.
I am a second generation Mexican-American and a first generation college graduate. My alma mater (Cal State Fullerton) is now considered a predominantly Hispanic commuter school in California.
Unlike many Hispanic families, I come from a small family. I can count my relatives on two hands! I am the only one from my family that has ventured out from the comforts of California to the east coast to pursue my dreams in radio. Achieving that now, I do miss my grandma’s albóndigas on those cold winter days, which I’m still getting accustomed to!
My mother was born in a predominately Hispanic city in Southern California (Santa Ana). She is the second oldest of four siblings and the only one to have children. She “broke the cycle” and graduated high school and has been attempting to go to night school to complete her associate of arts degree. She worked hard throughout her youth at a bank, moving up in the ranks, supporting my grandmother and grandfather while being a single parent to two toddlers. She has been an inspiration to me to better myself as a professional and to financially support myself. With that, she and my grandmother have contributed to my hard work ethic.
My grandmother was born in México. She was brought here, along with her twin brother, at three days old. They were both “left on the door steps” of a family-friend’s house from México. She never asked or tried to figure out what city she was born in. She eventually learned her who her real parents were, but never “bonded” with them.
“My grandmother was born in México. She was brought here, along with her twin brother, at three days old.”
My grandmother worked in the fields in Southern California and eventually became an overnight factory worker and had four children. My grandfather’s side is from Spain. He worked as a construction worker on many different projects throughout Southern California — including Disneyland! My grandfather was in the U.S. Army and fought in World War II and the Korean War. He was a decorated veteran and my grandmother has all his pictures, medals, army equipment, and the flag they awarded our family when he passed away over ten years ago.
