30 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 9-15, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE Luck and hard work are two ingredients that have shaped Benito Sanchez’s life. Sanchez is an Indigenous person who grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, then Greenfield. College wasn’t on the horizon after he spent his savings when his parents lost their jobs. “Those dreams faded away really fast,” he says. But he was able to attend thanks to the CSin3 program, a collaboration between Hartnell College and CSU Monterey Bay that helps students earn a degree in computer science. “Every high school math teacher spoke highly of me at the time,” he recalls. “I had no idea what computer science was.” Over time, he learned—and fell in love with this field. After finishing his degree he landed a job with Uber in San Francisco. Following the 2023 Pajaro floods, which affected many indigenous residents, Sanchez created Nurbli, an audio-centric online bulletin board where users, including Mexican indigenous speakers, can get access to translated information from local government agencies and school districts. He also returned to Greenfield. Weekly: How did college change your life? Sanchez: Being a first-generation student and going through this, I didn’t know what it meant exactly. You hear over and over, “college has changed your life.” When I graduated, I didn’t actually know what that meant to me. I think I realized the impact within six months of working at Uber. Being able to buy a house, being able to afford a car, being able to walk to your doctor’s appointments and walk out without any worries, any bills—that’s when I started realizing the impact, because growing up in South Monterey County, things are very different. Once I started noticing those differences, that’s when they affected me about the value of having education. You are from a small town. Did you experience any culture shock when you moved to the States? When I arrived, there was so much technology. The street lights—to me, that was very advanced. And I remember walking to a library the first time and just being amazed at how [many] books we had, and especially when they told me that I could use the computers at the library as long as I needed. I was so excited just being able to dive into all that knowledge. The difference from Mexico to the United States was that my parents were stable. They could work and make a good living and that gave me time to focus on education. Growing up in Greenfield, you’re surrounded by a Hispanic population most of your life. Then being thrown into San Francisco, that was like a big culture shock, because there weren’t as many Mexicans around, and you’re always questioning yourself, “Am I doing the right thing? Are they gonna fire me today?” I had the fortune to be surrounded by supportive managers and teammates. But even then, it was a lot of self-doubt, because mom and dad never had that job. My siblings never had that job, so there was no one to actually guide [me] how you do things. Do you ever think about how your life would be if you were still in Mexico? That’s very interesting. No, I don’t. But it would scare me to think about it, because in Mexico I didn’t have an interest in school. Back then, my mind since childhood was set to work, work, work. It wasn’t about getting educated. I started working at a young age. I started helping families, taking care of their homes, cleaning—stuff like that. They would pay me like 10 pesos a day [about 50 cents], and that was enough for like a torta and juice for the next school day. Education was never a priority, because you always have to work right? You always have to make a living. How do you spend your time outside of work? My only hobby is playing with my son. He has a bunch of Legos and he likes the car wash, so we got him a car wash set. By the time I finish work, we just play until both of us are tired enough to go to sleep. Is there a person you admire? Historical figures. Benito Juárez, stories of Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata. They inspired me from my childhood, and I used to love doing research about them. How do they inspire you? Their growth. Benito Juárez—being indigenous, his path to lawyer and the presidency was not common, right? There’s no one path to success. And being an indigenous person, he’s someone that I can connect to. And then, you know, the same name, right? New Tech Benito Sanchez didn’t start out interested in computer science, but now he creates programs that help others. By Celia Jiménez “It’s amazing how you can write some lines of code and get machines to move the world for you,” Benito Sanchez says. Inspired by the plight of indigenous residents of Pajaro after the floods, he launched a program to translate information. DANIEL DREIFUSS GET COZY! You are invited to our inaugural Stay Home & Get Cozy event February 20th. For the price of a ticket, you can stay home and support the older cats of Monterey County at the same time! Choose an activity like baking cookies with your cat, having a PJ party with your python, or devising a game with your dog! All participants will be entered in a free drawing to win fabulous prizes. Tickets available through https://gocatrescue.org/ stay-home or scan this QR code. If you would like to sponsor our next ad, please call us at 831-200-9232 or email info@gocatrescue.org. 831.200.9232 PO Box 683 Monterey, CA 93942 www.gocatrescue.org
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