As a first-generation Latina college student, Yolanda Camarena changed her degree three times and graduated in five and a half years. She didn’t walk when she graduated. Over 40 years later, she said she never could have imagined addressing Wichita State University fall 2023 graduates.
“I feel like I’ve truly come full circle, and I feel validated after all these years,” Camarena said.
Camarena and her husband, Gene, both received honorary doctorates from Wichita State at the fall graduation ceremony. Camarena graduated with a bachelor’s of education from WSU in 1978 and then with a master’s in public administration and education policy from Harvard University in 1988, where she founded the Journal of Hispanic Policy.
Gene graduated from University of Kansas with a bachelor’s in accounting and business administration in 1979, followed by a master’s in business administration from Harvard in 1987. He is president and CEO of La Raza Pizza, Inc., and has served three terms chairing the board of directors at the International Pizza Hut Franchise Association.
At the fall commencement ceremony, Camarena said she never would have gotten to where she is without her support system. She advised graduates to not listen to negative voices.
“There are many more voices who believe in you, who give you hope and help build faith in yourself and tell you what you can accomplish,” Camarena said.
Lending that support to others, Camarena and her husband are both involved in numerous community and scholarship organizations.
Camarena’s roles include serving on the National Board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, WSU’s National Advisory Council, the board of directors for the Kansas Hispanic Education and Development Foundation, and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Advisory Council.
Gene currently chairs both the board of directors for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters, a youth mentorship program.
Camarena acknowledged the life challenges that can “shake us up” and urged WSU graduates to find balance.
“The way to endure these life tremors is to adjust your stance,” Camarena said. “They force us either to step to the right or to the left until we find our center of gravity, our balance. Your balance is what will keep you steady in life.”
Camarena told graduates to feel validated for their hard work and sacrifice, while also encouraging them to thank those who supported them.
“Find that faculty member, administrator, peer, and most importantly, your parents or that person who never left your side, and tell them ‘thank you’ because they are walking across this stage with you,” Camarena said. “We never walk through life alone.”
