Heat Stroke, a Conversation

with Nancy Rosales, Entrepreneur and Watsonville Native

by Olga Rosales Salinas

*Elizabeth and Nancy Rosales, in 1993, Homecoming Court Aptos High School.

I interviewed my sister Nancy Rosales about her experience going straight from Aptos High School to San Francisco State University. I asked what convinced her to work hard in school, and together we reflected on the who, what, where, and how of her journey.

Nancy:

I want to start by saying that I love being a part of what our scholarship is doing this year. Seeing so many of you donating to this cause and spreading the word through reposts, likes, and comments has given us life, and we appreciate you. When Olga asked me to tell the defining moment behind my college success, I thought of one experience—working la morra (picking raspberries or field work). I want to tell this story because it describes the moment when I decided to take my schoolwork seriously. Up until that experience, I was a willful mocosa in class, to use one of Olga’s words.

Olga: I think it’s important to start with how old you were when we worked in the fields.

*Moss Landing Power Plant, along the Monterey Bay central coast of CA.