Raul Magdaleno

Raul Magdaleno

Raul MagdalenoAn HCF scholar who overcame extreme adversity in order to become the first in his family to graduate high school and college.

Raul's inspiring story stresses the importance of never giving up on the pursuit an education despite the challenges involved. Today Raul is giving back to the community by dedicating his life to higher education; he is also an aspiring White House Fellow.

The road to the classroom

Born in Mexico City in 1980, Raul Magdaleno began a journey toward success marked by challenges that at times seemed impossible to overcome. After one year of arriving in Dallas, Texas, at the age of two, Raul’s father passed away in prison, leaving his mother alone to raise Raul and his nine brothers and sisters. Raul was the youngest in his family yet he did not have the luxury of sibling role models. All of Raul’s brothers were in prison by the time he was seven years old. Years later, all of his sisters would end up dropping out of high school.

As a result of the physical abuse Raul’s father incurred on his mother while pregnant, one of Raul’s older sisters was born with a mental disability, forcing Raul to take on the responsibility of helping raise his older, disabled sister while he was still himself a child. At the tender age of 10, Raul realized that he had to serve as head of his family whose last hope lay in him.

During these difficult years, Raul’s mother remarried an abusive man. Angry and not knowing where to turn, Raul began collecting aluminum cans in his neighborhood in order to recycle them and collect the money—the only income he could generate to help feed himself and his family.

Raul’s mother decided to leave her abuser and flee to a domestic violence shelter when Raul was 13. Away from the poisonous violence of his home, Raul was able to see his life more clearly. While living in the shelter, Raul recognized that he had two choices: to let the negative aspects of his life bring him down or to use those experiences to uplift others. Barely entering his teenage years, Raul chose the latter option.

During high school, Raul stayed off the streets by volunteering most of his spare time to a local recreation center. In 1998 Raul became the only member of his family to graduate high school. Despite this enormous accomplishment, the words of a high school teacher telling him he ‘wasn’t college material’ stayed with Raul. Instead of pursuing a college degree, Raul pursued his passion of helping victims of domestic violence by raising half of a million dollars to build a new shelter in Dallas known as the Refuge.

At 22, Raul returned to his native home of Tepexpan, Mexico and what he saw there inspired him to finally purse a college education. The poverty and hopelessness of children in the region made Raul realize that educations is the greatest weapon to combat poverty. He applied this logic to his own life, at which time he realized how much he could gain from a college degree. Upon returning to Dallas from Mexico, Raul enrolled at a local community college.

Thriving in the classroom

Initially, Raul did not pass most of his community college entrance exams. In addition to attending school full-time, Raul worked a full-time graveyard shift to help support his mentally disabled sister and aging mother. However, despite his heavy load of obligations, Raul focused on his school work. After two years, Raul graduated as class valedictorian out of 60,000 students at the seven local area community colleges.

After earning his associate’s degree, Raul’s future looked brighter than it ever had. The following summer he was notified that he was a recipient of the Jack Kent Cook Scholarship, a $30,000 award that can be applied at any institution of higher education in the world. That same summer he was selected as the press secretary for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C and received the U.S. Congressional Award Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed upon young people by the U.S. Congress for his over 29,000 hours of community service since the age of 13.

After being courted by Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, Raul made his decision to attend SMU to pursue his bachelor’s degree.

During the 2003-2004 school year, Raul became a Hispanic College Fund (HCF) scholar, sponsored by Denny’s. At this time, HCF entered Raul’s life, providing the financial, professional, and even emotional support he needed to truly succeed at SMU. His life was such an inspiration that he selected to be the 2004 HCF Scholar Speaker at the Annual Gala.

During the 2004-2005 school year, Raul once again earned an HCF scholarship, this time sponsored by Sodexo and Freddie Mac. His second semester, Raul had the opportunity to study in London, but due to the financial constraints on his scholarships he would not be able to attend. At the suggestion of the CEO of the Hispanic College Fund, Raul came to Washington D.C., and with the help of HCF and their many partners, Raul was able once again overcome the financial obstacles to achieve his educational aspirations. Raul made it to London that year.

While in London, Raul was asked to appear on the television show, Don Francisco Presenta. The show provided Raul a platform from which to share his personal story with the world. After appearing on the popular television show, Raul was constantly approached by people who shared how inspired they were by his life story.

After the classroom

Raul earned his bachelor’s degree in corporate communications and public affairs from Southern Methodist University in May 2006. Influenced by his appearance on Don Francisco Presenta, Raul decided to continue to use his life to encourage young people to embody courage in the face of adversity. After his motivational speaking tour Raul returned to SMU to serve as the associate director of diversity and community outreach at the Meadows School of the Arts. Raul donated his first paycheck to the Hispanic College Fund.