I am the son of immigrant parents and the value of family, culture and hard work were constant aspects of my socialization. I was raised in a culturally and linguistically diverse rural town in Southeast, New Mexico where diversity was a key aspect of our community.  My formative years in New Mexico paved the road to my interest in serving diverse families and communities. While at Texas State University, I served as a missionary volunteer in Chicago with Latino children and their families. As a graduate student at Iowa State University and Michigan State University in Human Development and Family Studies, I focused my research and outreach on the relationships between culturally diverse families, schools and communities. As a professor for over 20 years, I have continued to utilize the lesson that I learned from my family of giving back to the community through outreach, teaching and research.