John A. Garcia:  

I was born and raised in a small, poor family in Las Vegas, New Mexico (not Nevada as students try to correct me when I share this info). In a brief meeting just before our high school graduation, our high school counselor asked me my plans after graduation. I told him that my Mom wanted me to attend our local university, He told me that this would not be a good plan and continued with the following short speech and advice:: "You are not smart enough to go to college---you will probably be embarrassed and humiliated when college classmates realize you do not know much at all. You should probably go to our local vocational school and settle for a certificate in some field where you can at least make a small wage and eventually settle down. And, by the way, you hang out with the wrong crowd who will also get nowhere in life. If you don't take my advice, I guarantee that you will never amount to much and probably and up being a hoodlum for the rest of your life." I ended up following my Mom's advice, but before that, I spent several years in the U.S. military and was Honorably discharged after my term. I returned to Las Vegas and eventually graduated from New Mexico Hig...Expand for more