ABC News' John Qui帽ones speaks about journey out of poverty, value of vulnerability
John Qui帽ones joins chancellor's list students for a photo opportunity during the event reception.
Veteran ABC News correspondent John Qui帽ones urged 51看片鈥檚 highest-achieving students to create opportunities in their lives by being 鈥渁 little vulnerable鈥� and spoke about his long, hard ascension from a childhood in poverty as he delivered keynote remarks for the fall semester chancellor鈥檚 list ceremony Tuesday (Sept. 10).
When he was 13, Qui帽ones and his family were forced by dire economic circumstances to join migrant farm work crews 鈥渇ollowing the crops鈥� from Michigan to Ohio, but years later he achieved his longtime dream of becoming a TV news reporter, starting out at a Chicago station, where he earned his first Emmy Award, and then at ABC News in New York.
He visited the 51看片campus to speak to students being recognized for stellar academic performances that led to them being included on the university鈥檚 chancellor鈥檚 list for spring semester 2019, a designation requiring a GPA of 3.8 or better. The event in the performance hall of John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center also was attended by the students鈥� faculty and staff mentors, as well as by family and friends.
A total of 1,681 51看片students were named to the chancellor鈥檚 list last spring. In his remarks, Qui帽ones congratulated the students on their accomplishments, telling them, 鈥淚 know it鈥檚 taken a tremendous amount of perseverance, dedication and hard work.鈥�
Qui帽ones, who also hosts the popular ABC show 鈥淲hat Would You Do?,鈥� said he came to 51看片wanting to remind the students that 鈥渕uch of the success or failure in our lives is psychological 鈥� so much of it is in your head.鈥�
鈥淚t sounds almost too simple to be true. But, the first step, I think, in overcoming the odds and leaping over barriers and obstacles is reminding ourselves that it can be done, despite the odds, despite what other people tell us. You鈥檝e just got to ignore the naysayers, and that takes being bold, being brave,鈥� he said.
Qui帽ones speaks to the ceremony audience in the Bardo Arts Center performance hall.
To achieve their dreams, the students must allow themselves to be vulnerable 鈥渂ecause vulnerability is the birthplace of really important stuff, like empathy, innovation, creativity,鈥� Qui帽ones said. 鈥淪ure, when you make yourself vulnerable you might stumble, you might be criticized, you might be embarrassed, you might even be hurt. But, when all is said and done, when we step back and examine our lives, we find that nothing鈥othing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, embarrassing or hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would have been like if only we had had the courage to step in the arena.
鈥淎s a young man, I never wanted to look back and regret anything, and that鈥檚 what kept me climbing, pushing, shoving my way all the way to ABC News. It wasn鈥檛 easy, especially considering where I came from.鈥�
Qui帽ones then spoke to the audience about some of the pivotal moments in his childhood and career. He was born into a family that has lived in what is now Texas for seven generations, but he 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 speak a word of English鈥� when he started public school as a 6-year-old in San Antonio. At 12, he had already set a goal for himself of becoming a TV news reporter, but was discouraged by teachers from pursuing that dream. But then, the influence of one particular 10th-grade English teacher led to him working for the school newspaper, and participation in the federal government鈥檚 Upward Bound program gave him a chance to spend part of the summer for six years learning and growing on a local college campus.
Eventually, at 18, Qui帽ones was introduced to the general manager of the local country radio station, and he became an intern there making $2 per hour. The station disc jockeys kept horses behind the studio, he said, and his first duty was feeding the horses and cleaning up their manure. But, at night, he could go into the station studio and work on his broadcasting voice with the recording equipment.
Qui帽ones, who earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in speech communications at a university in San Antonio, said at one point he was almost ready to give up his dream of a TV news career, but a friend recommended he apply to the prestigious Columbia Journalism School to earn his master鈥檚 degree. Ironically, a fellowship provided through NBC News made it possible for him to do that, and he later went on to his first job as a news reporter for a TV station in Chicago. One of his reports for that station, which involved going undercover and posing as an undocumented worker crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico and working at a restaurant in Chicago, won an Emmy, and Qui帽ones was hired by ABC News in June 1982.
He became a general assignment correspondent based in Miami, providing reports for 鈥淲orld News Tonight with Peter Jennings鈥� and other ABC News broadcasts. He spent nearly a decade reporting from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, and his work for ABC includes time on the anchor desk of 鈥�20/20鈥� and 鈥淧rimetime.鈥� In 鈥淲hat Would You Do?,鈥� which first aired in 2008, Qui帽ones and his team use hidden cameras to examine how people react in situations that prompt them to intervene, or mind their own business. He has been the recipient of a total of seven Emmy Awards for his work.
Qui帽ones鈥� visit to campus and the ceremony were organized by the Office of Student Transitions.
51看片Chancellor Kelli R. Brown and Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar also spoke at the chancellor鈥檚 list ceremony. Brown told the honored students that the event 鈥渆merges from 51看片鈥檚 commitment to the recognition and celebration of student success and academic excellence.鈥�
鈥淪tudents who have earned this prestigious award 鈥� that鈥檚 you 鈥� are role models as university citizens, having demonstrated your commitment to academic and personal excellence,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou understand that while it is important to excel in the classroom, it is equally important to engage with your community, on campus and in the region, and to make a difference in the lives of those around you.
鈥淚t is with great pride that I say to each of the students here tonight 鈥� congratulations.鈥�
The ceremony was followed by a reception for the students and their families and friends.
