Chicano/a Research Collection

In this interview, Dora Quesada discusses her family's history in Arizona and work in cattle ranching, mining, and freighting; her education; learning English and her family's use of Spanish and English; religion; her career as a military nurse, civilian nurse, and public school teacher; racism in the medical and educational fields; her political activity and work to oppose the Gosnell land swap; and her interest in and work to preserve Arizona's Mexican-American history.

In this recording, Dora Quesada discusses her career, including her experiences as a military nurse, time as a civilian nurse, and later work as a public school teacher. Among the subjects she covers are racism in the medical and educational fields; conflicts with other medical professionals; the breakdown in relationships between parents, teachers, and school boards beginning in the 1960s, which she attributes to defensiveness on the part of parents; teaching methods and class sizes; political issues involved in teaching; and advocacy to end exploitation of and improve conditions for students.