by Bob Menéndez
United States Senator
Many might have said that as a boy who grew up in a tenement building as the son of poor Cuban immigrants, I was foolish to dream of serving my nation in the U.S. Senate. But that is why the United States, which celebrates its 231st birthday this Fourth of July, is the greatest nation in the world.
As I sit here today, a proud senator representing the people of New Jersey, I want the next generation to know that through some hard work and determination, anything is possible.
My journey to a life of public service began in New Jersey’s Union City when as a senior in high school I was accepted into the honors program. At that time students had to pay for their advanced books, but my mother and father – barely making ends meet as a seamstress and a carpenter – didn’t have the funds for this extra expense.
I protested until the school district agreed to pay for my books, but I felt indignant that others faced similar dilemmas. Education shouldn’t have boundaries created by financial disparities, I believed, so I rallied my peers to change what I saw as a broken system.
We spent a long, hot summer gathering signatures for a referendum to change the school board from one that was appointed by a corrupt administration to one that was elected by the public. And we won.
Encouraged by that victory, I sought to be a representative on the school board, and at the age of 20 I was elected as the youngest member in its history.
Since then, I have had the privilege to serve as mayor of Union City, as a member of both chambers of the New Jersey state legislature, as a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, and now as a United States Senator.
Still I can’t forget my roots growing up in that tenement, nor the principles that these ladder-climbing experiences have instilled in me.
These values informed every decision I have made in my public service career. From working to make health care more affordable and accessible, to stopping the privatization of Social Security, to improving our schools and making a college degree more attainable, I have strived to create opportunity and improve the lives of all who live in this great democracy.
While these values inspired me to become a public servant, what continues to motivate me every day are the people who share their challenges and aspirations with me. I have been privileged to touch so many lives.
This is my greatest satisfaction – to know that because of my efforts a family can be reunited, or a group of senior citizens can collect their delayed Social Security benefits, or a veteran can receive the health care that he or she deserves.
Constituents and their experiences have also helped inspire me to create some innovative legislation along the way. When my Patient Navigator Program, inspired by those who were not receiving adequate health care, was signed into law, I heard one of the most tragic yet inspirational stories in my time in Congress.
Hazel Hailey told me of her daughter, Robin Waiters, who suffered severe stomach pain for two years but despite her mother’s urgings, refused to see a doctor. When she finally visited one, she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She passed away three months later.
Robin’s final request was for her mother to tell everyone she could that they should seek out care. This inspired Hazel to become a patient navigator. The program, which focuses on outreach to target communities to encourage prevention measures and follow-up treatment, has allowed Hazel to fulfill her daughter’s dying wish.
It is stories like Hazel’s – stories of creating positive change – that are the real compensation of being a public servant and are a continuous inspiration for me to strive to do more.
I have been privileged to realize the American Dream, but I recognize that what I have achieved is still a distant aspiration for too many. I hope that my journey will inspire many, many others as they weigh the choices in choosing their careers.
(Bob Menéndez is serving his first full six-year term in the U.S. Senate. E-mail him care of hannah_august@menendez.senate.gov.) c 2007
