Leading the Way to Citizenship One Student at a Time

Professor Cesar Guzman (backrow, far left), who teaches citizenship classes at Imperial Valley College and in the community, stands with a group of students in a class he taught at the First United Methodist Church in El Centro in this 2020 photo. Photo courtesy of Cesar Guzman

Fifteen thousand.

That’s how many people long-time Imperial Valley educator Cesar Guzman has helped become U.S. citizens through his work teaching citizenship classes offered as part of an Imperial Valley College (IVC) program and his volunteer work in the community.

Today, at age 78, though retired as a full-time educator, he still works part-time for the college program, volunteers in the community, and serves on a local school board in the city of Brawley, something he has done for nearly half a century.

He’s not about to stop yet. He enjoys it all too much to stop, especially when it comes to

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The Stories of the Valley’s Farming History Are Inspiring

In this historical photo, crops are transported from a Vessey & Co. field near Holtville. The history of agriculture in the Imperial Valley is filled with stories of survival, hardship, family bonds and success. Photo Courtesy of Vessey & Co.

Recently, this blog writer had a chance to interview farmers in the Imperial Valley whose farming operations are 100 years old and, in some cases, even older—over 115 years old. It’s fascinating to listen to their family stories and hear the tales of grandparents and great-grandparents who chose to travel to the Valley by wagon when agriculture and ranching were just beginning in the region. Imagine the Imperial Valley in the early parts of the 1900s, at that time still an untamed frontier that offered the promise of land but a harsh environment in which to forge a new life. Yet, they still made their way to the

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