There are no short cuts on the arduous and humbling road into the academy. My journey to the professoriate was wrought with twists and turns, and falls from grace, but also with career achievements, and ultimately perseverance. I was an unlikely candidate for the professoriate, both in the eyes of others and even in my own eyes. I recall sitting in one of my undergraduate math classes at UT-Austin thinking, “I could never be a professor.” It just seemed so impossible, so distant from anything I ever knew. Twenty-five years later, I am a tenured faculty member and an academic leader at this same institution.

While I remember the naysayers and the bumps along my journey into the academy, I also recall the many positive mentoring encounters, the countless words of encouragement, and the generosity of so many professors, administrators and mentors who reminded me to believe in myself and in my responsibility to my community. Over the years, I have connected with so many of these mentors through my engagement with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) familia. This scholarly and professional community represents a dynamic collection of individuals from across disciplines, from different backgrounds and from all over the country. I owe a great deal of my success to AAHHE for many reasons, but mostly because this community helped to make a career in higher education seem accessible and attainable.

As a member of the AAHHE family for over fifteen years, I have witnessed great leadership, passion and dedication. I see possibility, faces from my own ethnic background and a pathway blazed by generations before me through courageous struggles in academia and higher education. The AAHHE annual conference attracts Latinx leaders, scholars and graduate students, bringing them together in a space that is nurturing, challenging, empowering and one we can call our own.

Working as a professor and academic leader at my alma mater, I have been afforded the opportunity to engage in research and professional activities that advance the goals of access, equity and diversity. These research interests were largely informed by my own struggles and ultimate triumphs as an undergraduate and graduate student, and molded by my experiences with the AAHHE familia over the years. AAHHE provides a space where I can try out new research ideas, collaborate with colleagues and re-ignite my passion for collective work on the Latinx community.

At my institution, I often feel what Padilla (1994) terms “cultural taxation,” a product of being both a hyper-visible faculty member at a predominantly white institution but also a former student of this academic community. But when I’m with my AAHHE familia, the cultural taxation feels more like a cultural asset. I feel privileged to be in a space where I can be useful by mentoring young scholars and where I can contribute to developing the next generation of Latin/x practitioners, administrators and leaders. As demographic trends portend more racial/ethnic diversity in the coming decades, it is increasingly imperative that organizations like AAHHE lead the way in promoting greater access and opportunity in higher education for Latinx people. I am most fortunate to be a product of this familia, and my aim is to pay it forward.

Padilla, A. M. (1994). Ethnic minority scholars, research, and mentoring: Current and future issues. “Educational Researcher,” 23(4), 24–27. •