Spanish-speaking parents devoured Ramon Resa’s words of encouragement.
Do you love garlic? As a reader of this blog, I bet you do. But do you know where your garlic comes from or who picks it for you? Odds are it comes from the Silicon Valley-adjacent and official “Garlic Capital of the World”: Gilroy, California. And who picked your garlic? The audience and their families at yesterday’s 10th Annual Parent Conference for Gilroy’s South Valley Middle School! Here, Latino Keynote Speaker Ramon Resa inspired Spanish-speaking parents, farm workers who pick garlic for the world.
Latino Keynote Speaker Ramon Resa, MD {Photo: LiPo Ching / Bay Area News Group}
Any kid is capable of succeeding if the parents are behind them. ~ Keynote Speaker Ramon Resa, MD
The whole keynote was in Spanish even though Dr. Resa’s Spanish is rusty – for good reason. As a child, Ramon was ordered not to speak Spanish at school and was whacked with a ruler if he did. As a result, he let Spanish fade into the background. Still, things ran smoothly as the audience was happy to help out when Ramon struggled to find just the right word.
The Mercury News was on-hand to cover the event in detail in their article, “From abandoned farmworker boy to pediatrician: how one Central Valley man beat the odds“.
Audience Laughs with Ramon {Photo: LiPo Ching / Bay Area News Group}
To kick off the talk, the parents were shown a preview of the RAMON RISING documentary for classrooms about Dr. Resa’s life story, set for release early next year. The film will be shown to children in schools across the country and beyond.
My Spanish is bad but I could tell the audience was moved by the laughter and the tears.
Book Signing Fun {Photo: LiPo Ching / Bay Area News Group}
One of Ramon’s favorite parts of speaking events is the book signing afterwards. In addition to being a motivational speaker and full-time pediatrician, he is author of a memoir entitled, “Out of the Fields: My Journey from Farmworker Boy to Pediatrician“.
Ramon Speaks with Students from Gilroy {PHOTO: Enrique Diaz}
You never know when a kid’s life will be changed forever. A few words from Dr. Resa (or a teacher, counselor or coach) can make a real difference.
Successful Keynote in Gilroy {PHOTO: Enrique Diaz}
One audience member who personally touched was Enrique Diaz whose own journey has many parallels with Ramon’s.
Enrique grew up working in the fields of the Central Valley from age 7 picking cotton, garlic and other crops. Until recently, in his mid-40’s, Enrique hated garlic because of the years he spent picking it. Happily, he has overcome his garlic-induced gag reflex and now is able to simply savor the seasoning so many of us take for granted.
Education was Enrique’s launching pad to becoming a computer engineer with Apple for 23 years! He recently left his job to focus on helping others. He currently serves as Co-Chair on Latino Family Fund of Gilroy, mentors students and is on the local school board.
Ramon Resa with Enrique Diaz, wife Emily and daughter Isabella {PHOTO: Enrique Diaz}
Another commonality with Ramon’s story is his son’s path. Ramon’s son graduated from Stanford, UCSF medical school and Brown University for his pediatric oncology residency. Josh is now Dr. Joshua Resa, a pediatric oncologist in training at Sloan Kettering. Enrique’s son Alejandro is a Freshman at MIT and wants to pursue a career in computer engineering – following in his father’s path as Ramon’s son had followed in his.
Alejandro Diaz – with family {Photo: Nhat V. Meyer / Bay Area News Group}
BOOK KEYNOTE SPEAKER RAMON RESA!
To book Ramon Resa for your next event, please visit “BOOK RAMON RESA” or email me at: diane@EpicIndy.com.