Vasquez, Melba J. T. (1951-)

The professional accomplishments of Melba J. T. Vasquez are innumerable. Clinical practice, leadership, advocacy, education, and research are among the areas in which she has excelled. Vasquez's work has positioned her not only as a pioneer within the field of psychology but also as a true example of determination and perseverance. Having grown up and later come of age around a climate of intense racial and political unrest, Vasquez encountered challenges that later became empowering experiences that influenced and continue to influence her work in many ways.

Vasquez is the first of seven children born to her parents and grew up in San Marcos, a small town in central Texas. In her writings, she has described enjoying considerable attention from her parents and extended family members, feeling safe in her community even though it was socially segregated, and not realizing her family was poor until she reached the age of 6. As she was growing up, Vasquez's parents were very active in their community, participating in political rallies, voter registration projects, and fundraisers for Latina/o students. She noted her mother emphasized the significance of education, justice, and behaving as if they were deserving even if others did not seem to agree with such message.

Vasquez recalls feeling unsafe for the first time when she began elementary school and realized there was not a single teacher or administrator of color. Though she was very young and unable to put words to her experience, Vasquez notes she felt sadness and the loss of positive regard at a personal and group level due to seeing that children of a similar background were treated negatively. She soon learned that being a good student was the best way to get positive regard and a feeling of safety back.

Throughout her school years, Vasquez encountered difficult experiences such as hearing from her second-grade boyfriend that she could not be his girlfriend due to her ethnicity, finding out that the boys in the homecoming court were not willing to escort her for the same reason, and discovering that fellow high school cheerleaders excluded her from social gatherings.

The meaning of sisterhood began to emerge during Vasquez's elementary school years. The importance of allies became easier to elucidate after an African American young girl defiantly interceded for Vasquez and her sister when they were being bullied by a White boy. In high school, Vasquez was elected to leadership positions by students of various ethnic backgrounds who had formed networks to gain representation. She excelled despite the painful challenges she encountered.

Vasquez received a bachelor's degree in English and political science with a teaching certification from Southwest Texas State University. While in college, she encountered other salient life experiences. For example, she realized that individuals of White ethnic background can also be allies and found a mentor in Colleen Conoley, a woman who encouraged her to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology.

In college, Vasquez represented one of her student organizations in a beauty pageant. She was chosen as a semifinalist and later evoked the astonishment of friends and advisors when she declined to participate in another beauty contest. She could not yet articulate her [Page 440]disapproval of patriarchy's objedification of women, but this experience awakened the feminist in her.

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