Catch Up With Chuck | Episode 22 | Gladys Godinez

Rural Futures Institute Author

04/12/2018 Added

17 Plays

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Gladys discusses RFI-funded project in Lexington, Neb., from the perspective of a community participants.

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[00:00:36.470]Welcome to Catch Up With Chuck,
[00:00:37.790]from the Rural Futures Institute
[00:00:39.580]at the University of Nebraska.
[00:00:41.500]I'm Chuck Schroeder, I'm executive director
[00:00:43.460]of the Rural Futures Institute, and today my guest
[00:00:47.330]is a genuine courageous bridge builder.
[00:00:52.060]Gladys Godniez from rural Lexington, Nebraska,
[00:00:56.200]has become a friend of ours through one of our projects,
[00:00:58.610]and Gladys we're just delighted to have you here.
[00:01:00.780]Well thank you very much for having me.
[00:01:02.410]You have a great story, and we wanna get into that today,
[00:01:05.230]because it really is all about building community.
[00:01:07.780]Right.
[00:01:08.780]Well listen, if you've watched these episodes
[00:01:12.630]for some time, you'll know that
[00:01:13.700]last November we had Dr. Kirk Dombrowski,
[00:01:17.170]who's the John Bruhn professor of sociology
[00:01:20.070]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:01:22.590]talking about a very important project that Kirk led,
[00:01:27.170]called Health, Voice, Vision.
[00:01:30.050]It is part of the minority health disparities initiative,
[00:01:33.610]of the University of Nebraska.
[00:01:35.350]But it was a research project, and a learning project
[00:01:38.240]that was conducted in Lexington, Nebraska,
[00:01:41.700]looking at the challenges that minority residents would have
[00:01:46.420]in accessing healthcare, crossing language barriers,
[00:01:51.250]cultural barriers, a lot of issues.
[00:01:53.610]And it ended up having really a wonderful impact.
[00:01:57.230]Well, here's Lexington, Nebraska,
[00:02:00.640]one of the most diverse ethnic populations in the state.
[00:02:04.980]Actually their high school I think is
[00:02:07.350]the most diverse high school in Nebraska,
[00:02:11.030]and it is the home of today's guest.
[00:02:13.781]Right.
[00:02:14.614]Gladys, I'd like for you to tell us a bit
[00:02:16.380]of your remarkable story, that brought you to Lexington,
[00:02:20.403]and your life there.
[00:02:22.300]Well, I was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
[00:02:26.090]My parents, my older siblings, and my grandmother
[00:02:30.480]moved to Inglewood, California.
[00:02:32.750]And then after that we moved to Lexington, Nebraska
[00:02:35.890]when I was about 10 years old.
[00:02:37.740]Due to the meat packing plant called IBP,
[00:02:40.590]currently we have Tyson.
[00:02:42.610]After that I graduated from the
[00:02:44.550]Lexington High School in 2000,
[00:02:46.337]and moved on to UNK with a political science degree in 2006.
[00:02:51.120]Moved and lived in Kearney for a little while,
[00:02:53.830]and then moved out of state to Wisconsin.
[00:02:56.510]In 2016 we decided to move back due to us having kids,
[00:03:00.960]and wanting to be close to our grandparents.
[00:03:03.500]Sure, sure.
[00:03:04.470]In Lexington it was interesting before,
[00:03:08.261]when I was there, because,
[00:03:10.090]and I kept thinking about it, in elementary school
[00:03:13.710]I saw a vision of my dad being a provider.
[00:03:17.370]And we went to the store and we were just
[00:03:21.850]doing a simple transaction, right?
[00:03:24.470]Cash transaction, and he got yelled at.
[00:03:28.360]And he continuously got yelled at
[00:03:29.760]because the cashier thought that it was due to the fact that
[00:03:33.200]he couldn't hear, that he wasn't able to communicate.
[00:03:37.190]So that was hard for me.
[00:03:38.390]In middle school I was called the N word,
[00:03:40.620]in high school we had a town hall,
[00:03:42.870]and the leadership there told us that we were not welcomed.
[00:03:46.450]So through that process we try to see the light,
[00:03:50.100]we founded a leadership group within the high school,
[00:03:53.260]and then through college I try to make sure
[00:03:56.150]to come back to our community,
[00:03:57.610]and develop relationships with our high school students,
[00:03:59.890]so then they can know that they do belong,
[00:04:02.430]they are part of our community
[00:04:03.690]and they can also become leaders within our community.
[00:04:07.450]Well listen...
[00:04:09.360]I was in Lexington when we
[00:04:12.520]brought the Health, Voice, Vision project to it's close,
[00:04:15.592]and were celebrating that.
[00:04:18.170]One of the outcomes is a presentation called
[00:04:22.080]Looking Past Skin, Our Common Threads.
[00:04:24.930]And that exhibit previewed that night,
[00:04:28.300]at The Dawson County Historical Museum--
[00:04:30.719]Right.
[00:04:31.970]You were one of the speakers
[00:04:33.530]from the community that night, and told a very moving story
[00:04:37.330]about your decision to return to Lexington.
[00:04:40.980]And to be a part of these changes that you saw occurring.
[00:04:47.420]Share some of your observations.
[00:04:49.110]Sure.
[00:04:49.960]Well, we moved back to Lexington,
[00:04:52.440]and man at 65% Hispanic, %10 of African dissent,
[00:04:57.452]we have a lot of a large diverse community.
[00:05:00.100]And it has helped.
[00:05:02.620]The high school currently has flags in your entrance.
[00:05:06.210]All 40 or plus flags in the entrance,
[00:05:08.710]which means, hey welcome, you're welcome here, you belong.
[00:05:11.770]The chamber of commerce has a logo
[00:05:13.640]embracing different flags from our community.
[00:05:16.170]It's the logo itself it says, "Embrace Lex."
[00:05:19.310]So what a 180, right, from the time that I left,
[00:05:22.750]to the time that I came back.
[00:05:24.450]So now I see that our community
[00:05:26.270]is trying to bridge those gaps.
[00:05:29.230]And I saw the lack of the diverse community to have a leader
[00:05:35.020]and or have that communication
[00:05:37.060]with the rest of the community.
[00:05:38.070]So...
[00:05:39.570]I found it my call to be able to go into Lexington
[00:05:44.360]and say if this is my community,
[00:05:46.430]if this is where I'm gonna raise my children,
[00:05:48.356]I want all voices to be heard.
[00:05:50.810]Well you have been very much a part
[00:05:52.430]of building that conversation.
[00:05:54.640]Well listen, when I think about that project,
[00:05:58.030]the Health, Voice, Vision project that Kirk led...
[00:06:03.530]Kirk Dombrowski is one of the most
[00:06:04.960]sophisticated scholars in the country,
[00:06:07.120]he's a rockstar in his field,
[00:06:09.510]we're very proud to have him at The University of Nebraska.
[00:06:12.200]But let's face it, here was this
[00:06:14.650]sophisticated research project,
[00:06:18.230]dealing with some very complex problems,
[00:06:20.990]I think it was not unreasonable to think
[00:06:24.260]this may be an ivory tower project,
[00:06:26.700]that will result in a...
[00:06:29.590]An article for a referee journal somewhere,
[00:06:32.670]that will go on the self in the academy,
[00:06:35.260]and perhaps never really have an impact on the community.
[00:06:39.453]Right.
[00:06:40.286]That's exactly what did not happen.
[00:06:41.820]Because I saw real people
[00:06:44.460]from across the diversity spectrum in your community
[00:06:48.530]demonstrating really a profound sense of shared community.
[00:06:53.670]Talk a little bit about what happened, you were there.
[00:06:56.860]Right, right.
[00:06:57.758](Chuck laughs)
[00:06:58.591]Well we had a great setup.
[00:07:00.380]We had foods from different countries,
[00:07:02.500]we had individuals from different countries,
[00:07:05.030]we were able to then talk about the impact
[00:07:07.450]that Lexington has had on us,
[00:07:09.230]and how we would like to see the future of Lexington,
[00:07:12.600]being together and talking across cultures.
[00:07:16.380]So that was powerful.
[00:07:18.040]But you're right, academia can just stay in a book, right?
[00:07:20.920]We can just allow this research project
[00:07:22.680]to be part of Lexington, and then just let it be,
[00:07:26.000]but we're choosing not to.
[00:07:27.330]We're choosing to say, give us the data,
[00:07:30.140]allow us to bring this data to different,
[00:07:33.110]maybe foundations or whatever it may be,
[00:07:35.210]and then maybe potentially open a free clinic.
[00:07:38.850]That is our goal, we're looking at it
[00:07:40.520]two to three years from now.
[00:07:42.240]Our potential of opening a free clinic in Lexington,
[00:07:44.820]it would be...
[00:07:46.750]It would be,
[00:07:47.583]our closest free clinic, or low income clinic is Kearney.
[00:07:51.240]But it does not allow individuals
[00:07:52.670]from Dawson County to be there
[00:07:54.000]unless the work in Buffalo Country.
[00:07:56.910]And then we have Grand Island, but with limited income
[00:07:59.810]and limited capability, there's no way
[00:08:02.270]that individuals can travel an hour and a half
[00:08:04.750]just to be able to see a doctor.
[00:08:06.830]Sure.
[00:08:07.730]Well it, when I think about that project
[00:08:11.810]and the changes that are occurring in this...
[00:08:16.200]Here is a rural community quite honestly
[00:08:18.100]that has this long history of success,
[00:08:21.530]it's one of the great agricultural centers in our state,
[00:08:25.470]they've had great leadership over time,
[00:08:28.040]went through this challenging period,
[00:08:30.270]and now a new generation of leaders
[00:08:33.210]are coming forward to make Lexington
[00:08:36.630]really the great community that we all remember
[00:08:40.410]and want to be proud of.
[00:08:41.680]So listen, I want you to give us
[00:08:44.010]a little more of your vision.
[00:08:45.730]You made a very courageous decision
[00:08:48.060]to come back and be a part of it.
[00:08:50.600]Tell me a little more of your vision
[00:08:52.350]for what the future of Lexington might be.
[00:08:54.127]Well I think we have so much to offer.
[00:08:56.725]I mean, we have a little world within Nebraska
[00:09:00.384]that we can offer tourism.
[00:09:02.470]We have the ability to have businesses downtown
[00:09:05.380]that we can develop, right?
[00:09:06.950]We have entrepreneurs that may not know how to increase
[00:09:11.720]and or have a window, successful window
[00:09:15.201]within the downtown area.
[00:09:16.750]So it would be great for economic development,
[00:09:18.370]Lexington area Chamber of Commerce
[00:09:19.850]to be part of building our downtown area.
[00:09:22.760]In addition developing our youth.
[00:09:25.370]We're having a lot of return students
[00:09:27.210]coming back to Lexington, so I'm asking our leadership
[00:09:31.980]to be part of the answer.
[00:09:33.560]Meaning bringing in mentorship, being part of,
[00:09:37.980]having them at the table, teaching them the ways
[00:09:40.280]of how to successfully run our community.
[00:09:42.930]I think that would be awesome.
[00:09:45.780]We currently don't have a daycare center,
[00:09:47.760]which limits our economic development as well.
[00:09:51.300]So it would be great to have a daycare center.
[00:09:53.760]And again, we're definitely in the conversations
[00:09:56.050]of having a healthcare clinic.
[00:09:58.400]Right.
[00:09:59.280]Yeah, I mean the whole healthcare deal, or course,
[00:10:01.270]was the focus of that project, but it has so many fingers
[00:10:06.685]across all elements of the community.
[00:10:08.997]And that parts been fun.
[00:10:10.510]And we hope that is fulfilling part of our mission
[00:10:15.180]with the Rural Futures Institute,
[00:10:17.030]to really help real people in a community
[00:10:21.690]create the kind of thriving environment
[00:10:24.360]that draws young people back,
[00:10:26.180]and creates that support for entrepreneurs
[00:10:29.240]and change-agents if you will,
[00:10:31.690]that really are leading into a brighter future.
[00:10:34.720]Well listen, Gladys, one of our core beliefs
[00:10:36.830]at the Rural Futures Institute is that people
[00:10:39.910]have the capacity to determine their own future.
[00:10:43.240]They can make choices
[00:10:45.240]that will change the course of their community,
[00:10:48.190]and eventually change the course of the world.
[00:10:51.950]You are a living example of that.
[00:10:54.080]I was so intrigued when I heard your story last fall,
[00:10:59.850]and it's been so much fun to revisit it,
[00:11:03.170]and think about where you're going
[00:11:05.530]with this remarkable life that you've lived.
[00:11:07.950]So anyway, we're delighted and honored
[00:11:09.650]to be associated with you.
[00:11:10.920]Anything else you'd like to add today?
[00:11:12.750]Well honestly I would like to thank you
[00:11:14.590]for not only investing time, but money into our community
[00:11:18.360]and developing this conversation
[00:11:21.160]to be able to find solutions together within our community.
[00:11:24.250]So I appreciate not only the platform
[00:11:26.710]but the time and the money
[00:11:27.730]that you have invested in our community.
[00:11:29.810]It's been rewarding to us.
[00:11:30.870]Thank you.
[00:11:31.703]So thank you.
[00:11:32.536]Well listen, we appreciate Gladys coming
[00:11:35.640]and sharing this great story with us,
[00:11:37.910]and I wanna encourage you to stay in touch
[00:11:40.400]with the Rural Futures Institute
[00:11:42.040]through our website, through Facebook,
[00:11:44.270]Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and all of those tools.
[00:11:48.370]Because we're gonna be back in another week,
[00:11:51.210]talking to real people about real places,
[00:11:54.080]who demonstrate that thriving rural communities
[00:11:57.170]are a legitimate best choice for worthwhile living.
[00:12:00.060]Thanks for joining us.

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Catch Up With Chuck | Episode 22 | Gladys Godinez

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