\"This is an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a first-generation Mexican American woman whose parents work in the orchards around Mattawa, Washington. It is a collection of 44 written artifacts dating back to high school Spanish class and moving forward to the graduate papers written in the master's program at Eastern Washington University as well as concurrent and retrospective journal entries documenting her infancy years through her graduate studies. A close and interactive reading of works by Mexican Americans, Richard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldua, is offered by the author who connects her own experiences growing up bilingually and biculturally in the United States with their experiences. She also reviews literature about the role of the bi-literacy narrative and value of autoethnography in the lives of first-generation college students like herself. Providing both emic and etic views of the orchard community and cultural practices, the author highlights the values of respect, hard work, and responsibility taught to her and her three siblings by her Mexican-born parents who have worked for the same company in the orchards for 25 years\"--Leaf iv.
","abstract_html":"<p>"This is an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a first-generation Mexican American woman whose parents work in the orchards around Mattawa, Washington. It is a collection of 44 written artifacts dating back to high school Spanish class and moving forward to the graduate papers written in the master's program at Eastern Washington University as well as concurrent and retrospective journal entries documenting her infancy years through her graduate studies. A close and interactive reading of works by Mexican Americans, Richard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldua, is offered by the author who connects her own experiences growing up bilingually and biculturally in the United States with their experiences. She also reviews literature about the role of the bi-literacy narrative and value of autoethnography in the lives of first-generation college students like herself. Providing both emic and etic views of the orchard community and cultural practices, the author highlights the values of respect, hard work, and responsibility taught to her and her three siblings by her Mexican-born parents who have worked for the same company in the orchards for 25 years"--Leaf iv.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Aguilar, Brenda Lorena"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA) in English: Teaching English as a Second Language","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:29Z","subjects":["Autobiography","Aguilar","Brenda Lorena","Self-actualization (Psychology)","Mexican American college students--Washington (State)--Biography","Mexican American women--Washington (State)","Diaries--Authorship","Nonfiction","Social and Cultural Anthropology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Access is available to all users"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/336","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Aguilar, Brenda Lorena"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA) in English: Teaching English as a Second Language"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autobiography","Aguilar","Brenda Lorena","Self-actualization (Psychology)","Mexican American college students--Washington (State)--Biography","Mexican American women--Washington (State)","Diaries--Authorship","Nonfiction","Social and Cultural Anthropology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Access is available to all users"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/336"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["\"This is an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a first-generation Mexican American woman whose parents work in the orchards around Mattawa, Washington. It is a collection of 44 written artifacts dating back to high school Spanish class and moving forward to the graduate papers written in the master's program at Eastern Washington University as well as concurrent and retrospective journal entries documenting her infancy years through her graduate studies. A close and interactive reading of works by Mexican Americans, Richard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldua, is offered by the author who connects her own experiences growing up bilingually and biculturally in the United States with their experiences. She also reviews literature about the role of the bi-literacy narrative and value of autoethnography in the lives of first-generation college students like herself. Providing both emic and etic views of the orchard community and cultural practices, the author highlights the values of respect, hard work, and responsibility taught to her and her three siblings by her Mexican-born parents who have worked for the same company in the orchards for 25 years\"--Leaf iv.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"I am from Epifania and Tomas\": an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a Mexican American orchard workers' daughter"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Aguilar, Brenda Lorena"],"dc:description.abstract":["\"This is an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a first-generation Mexican American woman whose parents work in the orchards around Mattawa, Washington. It is a collection of 44 written artifacts dating back to high school Spanish class and moving forward to the graduate papers written in the master's program at Eastern Washington University as well as concurrent and retrospective journal entries documenting her infancy years through her graduate studies. A close and interactive reading of works by Mexican Americans, Richard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldua, is offered by the author who connects her own experiences growing up bilingually and biculturally in the United States with their experiences. She also reviews literature about the role of the bi-literacy narrative and value of autoethnography in the lives of first-generation college students like herself. Providing both emic and etic views of the orchard community and cultural practices, the author highlights the values of respect, hard work, and responsibility taught to her and her three siblings by her Mexican-born parents who have worked for the same company in the orchards for 25 years\"--Leaf iv.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/336"],"dc:rights":["Access is available to all users"],"dc:subject":["Autobiography","Aguilar","Brenda Lorena","Self-actualization (Psychology)","Mexican American college students--Washington (State)--Biography","Mexican American women--Washington (State)","Diaries--Authorship","Nonfiction","Social and Cultural Anthropology"],"dc:title":["\"I am from Epifania and Tomas\": an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a Mexican American orchard workers' daughter"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA) in English: Teaching English as a Second Language"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:29Z"}