Supporting the Future by Honoring the Past
Inspired by a mentor and retired administrator, Vicki Vasques ’81 recently made a $10,000 gift in honor of School of Education legendary teacher educator Mary Roosevelt.
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In 1980, Vicki Vasques received a simple, yet impactful message that still reverberates with her 40 years later.
At the time, Vasques was a student in the UCI Office of Teacher Education, a precursor to the UCI School of Education. The office’s student teacher supervisor, Mary Roosevelt, pulled Vasques aside one day and told her, “You’re going to do great things, and you’re going to go far.” With this memory engrained in her, Vasques recently decided to reconnect with her former mentor by contacting the School of Education. Vasques wanted to make a donation to honor Mary’s impact on her life and decided to fund the Mary Roosevelt Honor Scholarship in Teaching and Learning with a gift of $10,000. “I wanted to make sure this gift honored Mary and the work she did, and helped students in their pursuit of becoming teachers,” Vasques said. “I have a special place in my heart for education and Mary, who had a huge impact on my life. I’m so grateful and fortunate to be able to give back, and hopefully, I can continue to invest in our future teachers.” |
Vicki Vasques '81
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“Vicki was an excellent teacher, but I think even early on in her career that she had her mind set on other goals,” Roosevelt recalled. “She had a passionate course for her background, and she is a very lovely, very special lady.”
And the prediction of Vicki’s promising future? It was prophetic.
Immediately after obtaining her credential, Vasques began teaching at an elementary school in Mission Viejo. She soon left teaching for a different educational career – one at the U.S. Department of Education in the nation’s capital.
“I thought it would be a one-year stint where I could go to D.C. and do some good work,” Vasques said. “I ended up catching ‘Potomac Fever’ and served in various roles and administrations for the next 20 years.”
A Diegueno of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, Vasques would go on to work in the Departments of Education and Energy under four different presidents. Most recently, Vasques served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, during the George W. Bush administration. In the role, Vasques was principal point of contact within the federal government for Indian education across the nation.
Prior to that, she served as Director of Indian Affairs at the Department of Energy during the Bill Clinton administration.
“It might sound unheard of, to transition from a republican administration to a democrat administration, but working in a bipartisan manner regarding the issues of our native communities, it afforded me the opportunity to stay in Washington under different administrations,” Vasques said.
Vasques also served as executive director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, as an education program specialist in the Office of Indian Education, on the President’s Commission on Indian Reservation Economics, and on the President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic.
And the prediction of Vicki’s promising future? It was prophetic.
Immediately after obtaining her credential, Vasques began teaching at an elementary school in Mission Viejo. She soon left teaching for a different educational career – one at the U.S. Department of Education in the nation’s capital.
“I thought it would be a one-year stint where I could go to D.C. and do some good work,” Vasques said. “I ended up catching ‘Potomac Fever’ and served in various roles and administrations for the next 20 years.”
A Diegueno of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, Vasques would go on to work in the Departments of Education and Energy under four different presidents. Most recently, Vasques served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, during the George W. Bush administration. In the role, Vasques was principal point of contact within the federal government for Indian education across the nation.
Prior to that, she served as Director of Indian Affairs at the Department of Energy during the Bill Clinton administration.
“It might sound unheard of, to transition from a republican administration to a democrat administration, but working in a bipartisan manner regarding the issues of our native communities, it afforded me the opportunity to stay in Washington under different administrations,” Vasques said.
Vasques also served as executive director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, as an education program specialist in the Office of Indian Education, on the President’s Commission on Indian Reservation Economics, and on the President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic.
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After Vasques retired from government life she founded Tribal Tech LLC, based in Alexandria, Va. Through the guiding principles of “people, performance and partnership,” the company provides management and technical services to federal, state, tribal and corporate clients. She currently serves as owner and chairwoman of Tribal Tech and its subsidiary Cowan & Associates.
It’s been a varied career for Vasques, but one that was nonetheless buoyed by skills she learned in the teaching credential program at UCI. “One of my positions I held was Director of Scheduling and Logistics for Admiral James Watkins when he was the U.S. Secretary of Energy,” Vasques explained. “It was not an easy office to manage, but my background from UCI and teaching, which included planning, scheduling and organizing, along with a sense of patience and creativity, gave me the foundation I needed.” |
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When you start giving in the beginning, it may be a small amount – where $5 leads to $10, leads to $20. But, before you know it, you’re making a difference."
- Vicki Vasques '81, CEO and Chairwoman, Tribal Tech LLC and School of Education donor /
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In memory of her father, who started the first education program on the San Pasqual Reservation near Valley Center, Calif., Vasques in 2016 founded the Ronald Maese Peralta (RMP) Foundation, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to improve the education, health and wellness of all people, especially those throughout Native communities.
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Roosevelt earned a teaching credential from the UCI Office of Teacher Education, and soon after was hired by the Office. From 1975-90, Roosevelt was a student teacher supervisor, and then served as program coordinator for the multiple subject credential program and as director of external relations for the Department of Education until her retirement in 2002.
Having more than a quarter century of experience in higher education, Roosevelt remembers a time when scholarships were not readily available for students in any profession. “Many professions, not just teaching, lost many incredibly gifted people because of a financial problem, which is just tragic,” Roosevelt said. “One of the more important things our modern society has done is create scholarships. “To have a scholarship available is night and day for some of these students,” Roosevelt continued. “It’s also hours and hours of work – I hope that anyone who donates to a scholarship fund understands how hard those students, no matter the profession, work to earn them; it’s not just a freebie.” |
Mary Roosevelt
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Vasques feels it necessary to give back, even if it’s a small amount, so that others can follow their dreams and passions like she did.
“I thought it necessary to help the education industry – it’s difficult now with the COVID pandemic for both students and teachers,” Vasques said. “When you start giving in the beginning, it may be a small amount – where $5 leads to $10, leads to $20. But, before you know it, you’re making a difference.”
“I thought it necessary to help the education industry – it’s difficult now with the COVID pandemic for both students and teachers,” Vasques said. “When you start giving in the beginning, it may be a small amount – where $5 leads to $10, leads to $20. But, before you know it, you’re making a difference.”
