Transcript
Mito Alonzo
Probation/Parole Officer for the Idaho Department of Correction
Concerning the education part, I have been wanting to jump up and talk about it. I'm another of those GED graduates and first of all, I want everybody to know that I am proud Mexican-American. My roots are from Mexico even though I was born in Williams, Colorado. In fact, I come from a family so poor that I was born at home because my family was migrating and they couldn't afford a hospital. But here I am today. When I was approximately 6 or 7 years old, I was able to speak enough English going to school for my first couple of years that I became an interpreter for my parents. I remember in 1955 approximately, here in Idaho, where I had seen signs that said "No Mexicans Allowed" in a restaurant. I grew up with that as a little guy. As I grew up working in the fields, the only thing that my parents said, like every parent, "You have to go to school." I quit school because I thought I had to work like everybody else. Eventually I decided I don't want to work in the fields and I am going to listen to my dad for a change. I went to a trade school and became an auto mechanic; I got my associate's degree in that and kept working, and I loved working with people. And then I became a reserve police officer because the community that I lived in didn't have any Hispanic officers or Spanish-speaking officers, and they decided that they could use an interpreter because they were starting to see the Mexican population coming in. So, I became a reserve officer with them. Since I've always loved working with people, I decided that I am hurting my hands fixing cars and I love working with people, so I am going to go for the elite job working for the public, and I am going to be a police officer. So I became that. And I have been in law enforcement since 1977 and I know that I have made a difference in a lot of peoples' lives because I was able to communicate with them at the time of the arrest or helping the victim. And I do not mean to drag Chief Creech into this, but he can tell you too when he gets his turn that it is an asset to have an educated Mexican working for the community.
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