Manuel Medina speaks a clear Spanish and without problems finding words and explains the formula to be able to preserve the mother tongue despite having developed in academic, university and government environments where only English is spoken, “I think it was very important that my parents insisted that he always speak Spanish at home”, it was not easy for him and sometimes he felt unsure of being able to keep it due to pressure,“I felt different when I attended schools where there were no Latinos”, however over the years, their own parents were able to master English well, without ceasing to insist that Spanish is the language of the house. And he affirms with interest that “at that time there were no bilingual programs. For my parents, language and culture have always been very important. I also learned from them the importance of helping others.

The importance of education in any community begins at home, with the parents, a basic idea that Medina has cultivated since he studied at the University of Illinois, graduating with a degree in Education, he has been a high school teacher at the now defunct Froebel High School, later in Walsh and Whittier elementary schools, all three located in the Pilsen community, until he reached different positions in the City’s college system, first as deputy director of the Office of Training and later as director of the same, which gave him the opportunity to meet Arturo Velásquez, when he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Colleges and when the late Mexican leader led personal efforts to help Latino students through the Arturo Velásquez Scholarship Fund.  As deputy director of said office, Medina offered himself as an example to instill in parents the importance of getting involved with other parents in favor of bilingual education. He acknowledges his parents’ concern, the hard work they put in to get their children to school and graduate.  Nowadays, Manuel Medina is the President of the Board of Directors of Pilsen Neighborhood where as always, he supports the well-being of the latino- community in many areas of their lives, by actions that strength their identity and culture.