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March 01, 2004,
Vol. 74, No. 7S
ME alumnus working to build a better world for Hispanics It was a Hollywood
movie that inspired him to immigrate to the U.S. from humble roots in
South America. But rather than personal fortune and fame, Victor Pinzon
(BS’64 ME) was seeking something much loftier: a better life for
himself and his people. “My future
in Colombia did not look bright or challenging,” Pinzon says. “I
made up my mind that, if I was allowed to enter the U.S., I would do
any and all work within the law necessary to accomplish my goal.”
Now, 45 years later, Pinzon is effecting change economically, socially, and culturally as president of The Americas Global Foundation (AGF), the Washington, D.C.-based think tank and advocacy organization he founded in 1991. His goal is to empower Hispanics in the U.S. and the peoples of Mexico and Central and South America and build a bridge of understanding linking the Americas. “In order
to accomplish any change, we have to come together with other people
to exchange ideas and adjust our thinking,” Pinzon says. “In
math there is one solution to every problem, but that’s not so
in engineering or in life. I look for solutions where everybody wins.” The idea of coming
to America hit him like a thunderbolt in 1957, when he saw “Rebel
Without a Cause,” the James Dean film dramatizing the angst of
marginalized youth. Pinzon spent a year raising funds through his own
mattress manufacturing business and, on a snowy morning just after his
18th birthday, arrived in New York City. Although the first
advice he received from a fellow countryman was to turn around and go
home, he held fast to his vision. Within six months, Pinzon found a
high school where he could get his diploma. In 1959 he was accepted
at Berkeley to study engineering and topped that off with a Berkeley
M.B.A. in 1966. He paid his way with numerous jobs, sometimes as many
as four at one time, including selling magazines, teaching tennis, busing
dishes at the Faculty Club, and working as a teaching assistant, while
still managing to play varsity soccer. For AGF’s
two major programs – one to bring students to Washington to mobilize
them politically, and another to build affordable housing for low-income
families—Pinzon has succeeded in getting the attention of U.S.
congressmen to secure federal matching funds. He does most of the work
at AGF himself. Challenged by modest resources, he counts on members,
advisors, and volunteers around the globe for support. “I may be
a dreamer, but I believe all of this is doable,” he says. “I
invite those who are really hungry to do something for themselves and
their communities to join us.” For more details
on AGF, visit the Web site at http://theamericas.org.
Written by Patti Meagher |
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